Independence Day 2021: PM Modi addressed the nation from Red Fort for the eighth time. (File)
India is responding with courage and conviction to the challenges of terrorism and expansionism and it has shown the world it doesn't hesitate on taking tough decisions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today in his speech on India's 75th Independence Day, taking a swipe at Pakistan and China.
"If the world is looking at India differently now, there are two aspects to the new perspective. One is terrorism and the second, expansionism. India is fighting both these challenges and is responding in with courage and conviction," PM Modi said, addressing the nation from Red Fort for the eighth time.
"By conducting surgical strikes and airstrikes, we have sent out a message of the emergence of a new India to our enemies. It also conveys that India can take tough decisions," he added.
The Second World War changed international relations, he said, asserting that in the same way, there was a possibility of a new world order after the coronavirus pandemic.
The Prime Minister's comments come amid attempts to resolve a yearlong standoff at eastern Ladakh after clashes broke out in June last year between Indian and Chinese troops, the deadliest since the 1962 war.
India has officially announced that 20 officers and men were killed in the clashes. China says it lost four soldiers, a claim that army sources strongly dispute.
After 12 rounds of military talks, a breakthrough emerged last week when both sides agreed to disengage in most of the trouble spots near the Line of Actual Control.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops at the border.