Marking ocean as the source of world power, India today said the country needs to revive its past maritime glory by strengthening its naval power and sought wide research on the sea.
"The countries which have good naval power have been able to dominate the globe. The countries like Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom have become world power because of their naval power," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said delivering the valedictory address at an International Conference on "India & the Indian Ocean-Renewing the Maritime Trade & Civilisation Linkage" here.
Stating that India was located in a very crucial part of the Indian Ocean, Parrikar said, though, the country's maritime past was eventful, it lost the track in the mid ways.
However, the Union Minister said, the country has started thinking along that line after Narendra Modi assumed office of the Prime Minister.
The NDA government's importance on the 'Look East' and 'Act East' foreign policy aimed at reviving the trade and renewing the country's age-old links with Indian Ocean Rim countries.
"This is the right time to work in tandem with Indian Ocean Rim countries. Today ocean requires attention like space," the former Goa chief minister said.
"Indian ocean and its rim countries are the place having 56 to 57 per cent of world oil reserve and have about 45 per cent of the world's gas deposits. Two-third of the oil trade of the world is taking place in Indian ocean," Parrikar pointed out.
