Navy Chief Flags Self-Reliance as Key Lesson from Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb Disruptions

Disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb have reinforced the Indian Navy's focus on self-sufficiency, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan said at the NDTV Defence Summit 2026 on Sunday.

Responding to a question on the lessons drawn from the two chokepoints being largely shut, Admiral Swaminathan said the force continuously works to read a threat environment that shifts with technology, adversaries and geography. Capabilities, he added, are never built in a vacuum but to meet the challenges India is likely to confront.

On energy security, the Navy chief said the government had acted swiftly to broaden the country's sources of supply. He described the Navy's core responsibility as keeping India's sea lanes safe, and said the conflicts had yielded tactical, operational and strategic lessons.

The most important of these, he said, is the need to be self-sufficient — a requirement he expects to shape the Navy's thinking across the board. That push, he explained, extends beyond defence technologies to the building and sustaining of the force.

Admiral Swaminathan said the idea of aatmanirbharta captures the direction of the Navy's efforts and reflects the wider national mood, adding that the coming days would see greater emphasis in this area.

Speaking earlier at the event, he underlined the centrality of the seas to India. He described the country as a maritime nation — a description he said carries economic, civilisational, geopolitical and psychological meaning.

Close to 90% of India's trade by volume and more than 70% by value moves along maritime routes, he said. Over 60% of GDP originates in coastal states, and about 18% of the population lives within 50 kilometres of the coast.

India's economy and national growth in this century, he asserted, will depend crucially on the seas.