India has chosen to decisively expand its naval presence by building air bases and naval stations in Agatti and Minicoy Islands to safeguard the crucial maritime lines of communication following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep.
The Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands are located on the nine-degree channel, which transports billions of dollars in commercial traffic to Southeast Asia and North Asia. Minicoy Islands is only 524 km from Maldives.
The Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, will make a significant statement on maritime security on March 4-5 when he inaugurates INS Jatayu, a naval station, in Minicoy Islands, accompanied by navy brass and INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant carrier task groups, which include around 15 vessels.
What are the Indian Navy’s Plans?
The Indian Navy intends to convene the first part of the Combined Commanders Conference on board Indian aircraft carriers while the two armadas move from Goa to Karwar, Minicoy Islands, and Kochi. The second portion of the commanders’ conference will be conducted on March 6-7.
It is thought that the Modi government has chosen to construct a new airfield at Minicoy Islands and modernize the one at Agatti Islands, with naval assets stationed at INS Jatayu. This action is consistent with the Modi government’s aim of using its island holdings to project strength in the Indo-Pacific in support of regional maritime security.
While India is already expanding its force capability in the Andamans and Nicobar Islands, with new facilities at Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar, the move to upgrade the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands will protect commercial shipping while also improving infrastructure and tourism in the island territories.
What New Naval Base Provides?
The geographical position of the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands, as well as the Andamans and Nicobar Islands, allows India to protect maritime trade routes while resisting the threat posed by China’s fast-increasing navy and its supplicants in the Indian Ocean.
The primary commercial shipping route from the Suez Canal or Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia and beyond passes through the nine-degree channel (between Lakshadweep and Minicoy) and the ten-degree channel (between the Andamans and Nicobar Islands). India controls the commerce route across Indonesia’s Sunda and Lombok Straits.
The carrier task groups of INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant will be a sight to behold on their way to the Minicoy Islands, escorted by destroyers, frigates, and submarines. Such levels of force projection have never been seen before, and the adversary and its supplicants will think twice before causing trouble in the Indian Ocean region.
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