Andaman and Nicobar Islands:  A Military Asset

STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS

Andaman and Nicobar Islands:  A Military Asset

The strategic significance of the Andaman and Nicobar islands was underscored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he named 21 islands, one each in the name of Param Vir Chakra (PVC) award winners. The PVC is the highest military honour for Indian soldiers.

 

Strategic significance of A&N islands

Home Minister Amit Shah at Port Blair Monday announced that the government was committed to develop the island chain.  Shishir Gupta (Executive Editor, Hindustan Times) writes the government needs to “make Andaman and Nicobar Islands a strategic military asset of the Indo-Pacific. The tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command, created by Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2001, must live up to the vision for which it was created in the first place.”

The Island chain “sits on the mouth of Malacca Straits and Ten Degree Channel, through which trillion-US dollar worth trade passes through to southeast and north Asia, bisects little Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands. The southernmost tip of the island chain is mere 237 kilometers from Banda Aceh of Indonesia and hence dominates the sea lanes to Sunda and Lombok Straits, the two ingress routes into contested South China Sea.”

 

Developing Campbell Bay

Gupta also suggests that the government needs to “dust up the 15-year plan to make a container terminal at Campbell Bay for replenishment of cargo ships bound for straits of Malacca. Today, the same cargo ships must wait at Colombo port for their turn to enter Malacca Straits….”

Also, the “runways at INS Kohassa in North Andaman and INS Baaz in Great Nicobar need to be extended to Indian Navy’s anti-submarine and reconnaissance P 8 I to operate in the region. A jetty to handle the Indian Navy’s two aircraft carriers needs to be constructed at Campbell Bay if India plans to counter the Chinese challenge in the Indo-Pacific…..

“While Su-30 MKI fighters land at INS Utkrosh at Port Blair as part of forward deployment, fighter operations from INS Baaz will change the complexion of the game in South China Sea as it would expand the military footprint of India into Southeast Asia and beyond.”

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