Andaman And Nicobars Militarization
The Ladakh stand-off with China has catalysed India’s efforts to strengthen its military presence at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI).
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- Government plans for basing additional military forces, including facilities for additional warships, aircraft, missile batteries and infantry soldiers at the strategically located Andaman Islands.
- Runways at Naval air stations INS Kohassa in Shibpur and INS Baaz in Campbell Bay are being extended to support operations by large aircraft.
- Indian strategic commentators are even recommending to permit friendly foreign navies access to the ANI’s military bases.
Need to militarize ANI
- Growing Chinese presence: In recent years, China strengthened its overall presence in Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
o Examples include deployment of a submarine at Colombo harbour, developing naval bases at Gwadar and Djibouti etc.
- Strategic location: These islands help India to defend its vital stakes in IOR. To achieve the purpose, India has set up Andaman and Nicobar Tri service Command.
- Economically important: These islands dominate the Bay of Bengal which contains important sea lines of communication. More than 30 percent of the world’s seaborne trade passes through this narrow region.
o They comprise 30 per cent of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
- Buffer Zone: These Islands act as a buffer zone between India and rest of the nations present in IOR.
Challenges in Militarizing ANI
- Lack of clarity in approach: On the matter of the strategic development of the Andamans, India’s defence and
foreign policy establishments have not always been on the same page. This act as a barrier in development of security infrastructure on the islands
o Given the complexity of India-China bilateral relations, these strategic interactions at the A&N Islands may rile China and lead to further antagonism between the two countries.
o Many countries in neighbourhood consider India as a benign and benevolent power. Power projection at islands will change this perception of India.
- Lack of Infrastructure & Communication: After several years, an undersea cable link between India’s mainland and the islands remains incomplete.
o Recently, Submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair was laid down to provide connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands. It will enable delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- Islands are inhabited: Of the 572 islands that make up the Andaman and Nicobar group, only 37 are inhabited. The absence of a human presence on hundreds of these islands has made them vulnerable to narcotics smuggling, intrusion by foreign vessels, and other incursions.
- Geographic factors: Heavy rainfall restricts building activity to six months a year and the distance from mainland adds to the cost of construction as all material must be shipped to the islands.
- Sensitive ecology: Environmentalists warn that the recent infrastructure projects (as planned by NITI Aayog such as hotels, resorts and a trans-shipment hub at Campbell Bay) could devastate the fragile ecology of the Andaman. Already many islands are facing significant damage from the climate crisis.
Way forward
- India should follow the principle of ‘strategic autonomy’ while taking its decision to militarize ANI
o Strategic autonomy denotes the ability of a state to pursue its national interests and adopt its preferred foreign policy without being constrained in any manner by other states.
- There is a need to encourage migration from the mainland and open up some of these strategically located uninhabited islands to tourism. That would give India a stronger physical footprint and would help the country track the movement of vessels
and people.
- While developing islands, India needs to ensure that ecology of the place remains preserved.
About Andaman & Nicobar Islands group
- It is a group of 572 islands, out of which only 38 are inhabited.
- The islands extend from 6° to 14° North latitudes and from 92° to 94° East longitudes.
- The highest point is Saddle Peak (732 m) located in North Andaman Island.
- The only active volcano in India, Barren Island, is located in A&N and had last erupted in 2017.
- It also has mud volcanoes have erupted mud volcano situated in Baratang island sporadically
- It has often been referred to as India’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ to the East.
India’s presence in Indian ocean:
- Military Exercises: MILAN, MALABAR
- Logistics-sharing agreements: with the US and Australia, as well as with France, Singapore, and South Korea. A similar logistics-sharing agreement with Japan is in an advance stage of negotiations. Examples include: Logistics exchange at ports Sabang, Changi, Duqm, Agalega, Chabahar etc.
- A&N Command: It is the first and only Tri-Service theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces. It patrols India's EEZ to suppress gun running, narcotics smuggling, piracy, and poaching, and conducts maritime surveillance and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.