{"id":40534,"date":"2024-04-16T10:08:04","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T04:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=40534"},"modified":"2025-04-25T03:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T22:07:17","slug":"the-strategic-importance-of-andaman-and-nicobar-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/the-strategic-importance-of-andaman-and-nicobar-islands\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strategic Importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Strategic Location of the A&amp;N Islands:<\/li>\n<li>What is the Strategic Significance of the A&amp;N Islands?<\/li>\n<li>Why has the Pace of Developing Strategic Infrastructure in A&amp;N Been Slow?<\/li>\n<li>What Should Strategic Infrastructure Development in these Islands Focus On?<\/li>\n<li>What Kind of Infrastructure should be Prioritised on the Islands?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The recent thrust on developing strategic infrastructure, both civilian and military, on the Andaman and Nicobar (A&amp;N) islands is welcome and decades overdue.<\/li>\n<li>The way this important group of islands has been neglected during the decades following Independence indicates a lack of strategic maritime vision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Strategic Location of the A&amp;N Islands:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The islands are <strong>located 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) southeast<\/strong> of the Indian mainland.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Malacca Strait,<\/strong> the main waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, is less than a day\u2019s steaming from Port Blair.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sabang in Indonesia is 90 nautical miles<\/strong> southeast of Indira Point (on Great Nicobar island), and <strong>Coco Island<\/strong> (Myanmar) is barely 18 nautical miles from the northernmost tip of the Andamans.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The mouth of the Kra Canal<\/strong> (to be built by Thailand to connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea) would be located roughly 350 nautical miles east of Port Blair.<\/li>\n<li>The islands <strong>share four of India\u2019s international maritime zonede limitations <\/strong>with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh.<\/li>\n<li>They also give India substantial ocean space under the United Nations Conference on the Laws of the Sea (<strong>UNCLOS<\/strong>) in terms of exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Strategic Significance of the A&amp;N Islands?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The following has brought a degree of seriousness to the imperative of developing the A&amp;N group of Islands &#8211;\n<ul>\n<li>The transformation of India\u2019s Look East policy into a robust<strong> Act East policy<\/strong>,<\/li>\n<li>A realisation of the critical importance of<strong> ocean power<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n<li>The rapid enhancement in the capabilities of the <strong>Chinese PLA Navy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In the foreseeable future, a serious challenge could emanate from <strong>a build-up of Chinese maritime forces at the eastern choke points of the Indo-Pacific<\/strong>, namely\n<ul>\n<li>The Malacca (between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula),<\/li>\n<li>Sunda (between Java and Sumatra),<\/li>\n<li>Lombok (between Bali and Lombok), and<\/li>\n<li>Ombai-Wetar (off East Timor) straits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The A&amp;N Islands should be the <strong>first line of offence<\/strong> against any attempt from the East to undermine India\u2019s maritime security.<\/li>\n<li>While some effort was made to leverage this locational advantage with the A&amp;N Command (ANC) being constituted as a tri-services command in 2001, subsequent efforts have been grossly inadequate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why has the Pace of Developing Strategic Infrastructure in A&amp;N Been Slow?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Non-realisation of strategic importance for India\u2019s security: <\/strong>Political decision-makers have very recently realised how vitally important the islands are. This is because of the PLA Navy&#8217;s unprecedented expansion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The distance from the mainland: <\/strong>It has been used as an excuse to delay and stall various projects.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Complex procedures for obtaining environmental clearances: <\/strong>Regulations on the conservation of forests and native tribes have complicated issues of land acquisition.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Coordination challenges:<\/strong> The development of islands and strategic infrastructure is a multi-dimensional project involving several ministries, departments, and agencies.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Not a political issue:<\/strong> The conflict between a long-term strategic vision and immediate political gains has often tilted in favour of the latter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Should Strategic Infrastructure Development in these Islands Focus On?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Maritime security:<\/strong> The security of all 836 islands, both inhabited and uninhabited, must be ensured against attempts at their occupation or use by entities engaged in unlawful activities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A strong element of deterrence:<\/strong> It must be ensured against any naval misadventure from the East.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bolster India\u2019s maritime economy:<\/strong> Infrastructure must be built on the southern group of islands that is strategically located vis-\u00e0-vis the main shipping lane from the Indian Ocean to South East Asia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ease of travel to and between the islands<\/strong>: Improved transportation will help to create and sustain the tourism potential of the islands.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Islands\u2019 dependence on mainland support must be reduced:<\/strong> In respect of foodstuffs or relevant local industries that support maintenance, repair, and other services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Kind of Infrastructure should be Prioritised on the Islands?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>This sea area needs to be monitored and patrolled by aircraft and surface platforms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Separate airfields<\/strong> with long runways that can operate Boeing 737-sized aircraft are essential.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ports and fuel storages <\/strong>must be built in both the northern and southern groups of the islands for ships\u2019 operational turnaround without the need to return to Port Blair.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Army, Navy, and Air Force<\/strong> must not only commit more forces, but station the right mix of assets at the ANC. There is a need to base surveillance and fighter aircraft there.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Work on the Galathea Bay<\/strong> (Great Nicobar Island) transhipment port must be expedited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>India could also explore the possibility of leveraging international arrangements in the Indo-Pacific such as the <strong>Quad <\/strong>and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (<strong>IPOI<\/strong>) to catalyse development efforts on the islands.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q.1. What is the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)?<\/h3>\n<p>The IPOI was proposed by the Indian PM at the 14th East Asian Summit in 2019 to strengthen maritime boundaries and partnerships, focusing on free trade and sustainable resource usage.<\/p>\n<h3>Q.2. What is the United Nations Conference on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)?<\/h3>\n<p>Adopted in 1982, UNCLOS lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world&#8217;s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/anadaman-and-nicobar-island-development-strategic-importance-indian-navy-explained-9272599\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>An Expert Explains: The strategic importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The A&#038;N Islands should be the first line of offence against any attempt from the East to undermine India\u2019s maritime security<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40535,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}