The strategic importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- April 16, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
The strategic importance of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Subject: Geography
Section: Mapping
Context:
- The neglect of Andaman and Nicobar strategic island groups betrays a lack of strategic maritime vision in the decades since Independence.
More on news:
- The transformation of India’s Look East policy into a robust Act East policy, a realization of the critical importance of ocean power, and the rapid enhancement in the capabilities of the Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, have brought a degree of seriousness to the imperative of developing Indian island territories in general, and the Andaman and Nicobar group in particular.
What is the strategic importance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?
- The islands are located 700 nautical miles (1,300 km) southeast of the Indian mainland.
- The Malacca Strait, the main waterway that connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, is less than a day’s steaming from Port Blair.
- Sabang in Indonesia is 90 nautical miles southeast of Indira Point (on Great Nicobar island), and Coco Island (Myanmar) is barely 18 nautical miles from the northernmost tip of the Andamans.
- Thailand built the Kra Canal connecting the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea, its mouth would be about 350 nautical miles east of Port Blair.
- The islands share four of India’s international maritime zone delimitations with Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh.
- They also give India substantial ocean space under the United Nations Conference on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) in terms of exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
- In the foreseeable future, a serious challenge could emanate from a build-up of Chinese maritime forces at the eastern choke points of the Indo-Pacific, namely the Malacca (between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula), Sunda (between Java and Sumatra), Lombok (between Bali and Lombok), and Ombai-Wetar (off East Timor) straits.
- The A&N Islands should be the first line of offense against any attempt from the East to undermine India’s maritime security.
- While some effort was made to leverage this locational advantage with the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) being constituted as a tri-services command in 2001, subsequent efforts have been grossly inadequate.
What kind of infrastructure should be prioritized on the islands?
- Ports and fuel storages must be built in both the northern and southern groups of the islands for ships’ operational turnaround without the need to return to Port Blair.
- Work on the Galathea Bay (Great Nicobar Island) transhipment port must be expedited.
- India could also explore the possibility of leveraging international arrangements in the Indo-Pacific such as the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) to catalyze development efforts on the islands.
About Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
- The Andaman Islands are the extension of the submerged ArakanYoma Tertiary Mountain range of Myanmar and the Nicobars are the continuation of the Mentawai Islands to the south and southeast of Sumatra.
- These two island groups situated in the Bay of Bengal span 6°45′ N to 13°41′ N (740 km) and 92°12′ E to 93°57′ E (190 km).
- These islands are separated from one another by very narrow straits.
- Andamans are separated from Nicobar by a 10-degree channel (10-degree latitude).
- South Andaman and Little Andaman are separated by Duncan Passage.
- The Grand Channel is between the Great Nicobar islands and the Sumatra islands of Indonesia.
- The Coco Strait is between the North Andaman islands and the Coco Islands of Myanmar.
- Port Blair, located in South Andaman is the administrative capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The southernmost point of India is The Indira Point, (formerly known as Pygmalion Point and Parsons Point) which is the southern point of the Great Nicobar Islands.
- The highest peak of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is Saddle Peak, located in the North Andaman.