The Indian government is reportedly gearing up for an US$8-billion warship project in order to counter the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wants to build a stronger military for the country. India has been unable to defend itself from wars against China and Pakistan in the past years due to weak military system, he explained.

Like Us on Facebook

According to reports, Modi met with his officials for a cabinet meeting on Monday to discuss the budget and to approve the construction of seven frigates that will be equipped with advanced stealth features.

The frigates will be built at Mumbai and Kolkata, areas that have government-owned shipyards, in order to boost the domestic defense of the country. This move also aims to reduce the dependence of India to foreign countries when importing such arms.

The building of the frigates, dubbed Project 17-A, has been awaiting a go signal since 2012. According to a source who wanted to remain anonymous, the government already approved this project and might start within this month but the warships will probably take more than a decade to be completely built even if the construction starts as soon as possible.

Aside from the frigates, the government also approved the building of six nuclear-powered submarines, as per report of The Times of India. However, no other details were given out to the public as the project is being discussed in secrecy.

The Indian navy has been making efforts to improve its system since submarines from China docked at Sir Lanka. China's foraying in the waters of the Indian Ocean has exposed India's weak undersea defenses.

Tagswarship project, Navy, Indian Ocean, Project 17-A