Indigenously-built stealth guided missile destroyer Visakhapatnam, packed with an array of missiles and anti-submarine rockets, was on Sunday commissioned in presence of top naval commanders.

‘Visakhapatnam’ is equipped with lethal weapons and sensors, including supersonic surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, medium and short-range guns, anti-submarine rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communication suits, PTI reported officials as saying.

Also read: | King Midas: Four-eared cat from Turkey is internet’s new darling

Meanwhile, China has been militarizing islands in South China, a move that has attracted global criticism. The area has overlapping claims of several East and Southeast Asian nations.

In 2016, an international tribunal rejected China’s argument that it enjoys historic rights over most of the South China Sea — a region known to be rich in hydrocarbons and also hosting an important Sea Lane of Communication.

Following the order, China said the award is “null and void and has no binding force” and it neither accepted nor recognised it.

Also read | Indonesia hosts World Superbike finale on brand-new circuit

Taking a dig at China, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said “some irresponsible nations” with their narrow partisan interests and hegemonic tendencies are coming up with wrong definitions of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“It is a matter of concern that UNCLOS is being repeatedly weakened by arbitrary interpretation of its definition by some nations,” Singh said, after commissioning the Indian Navy’s destroyer Visakhapatnam.

Also read | Man presumed dead wakes up after being kept in morgue freezer for 7 hours

“As a responsible maritime stakeholder, India supports consensus-based principles and a peaceful, open, rules-based stable maritime order,” Singh said.

“India envisages Indo-Pacific having freedom of navigation, free trade and universal values where all stakeholders’ interests are protected,” he said.

“Some irresponsible nations, with their narrow partisan interests, hegemonic tendencies are coming with wrong definitions of international laws,” Singh said without naming China.

(With inputs from PTI)