Why INS Jatayu, India’s new naval base in Lakshadweep, matters

Why INS Jatayu, India’s new naval base in Lakshadweep, matters

Subject: Geography

Section: Mapping

Context:

• On March 6th, the Indian Navy will commission the Naval Detachment Minicoy as INS Jatayu, transforming it into an upgraded naval base at the strategic Lakshadweep Islands

Details:

• This development represents a significant step in enhancing India’s security infrastructure in the region.
• The Minicoy detachment, located on the southernmost atoll of the Lakshadweep archipelago, has been operational since the 1980s, but its upgrade to INS Jatayu marks it as the country’s second naval base in Lakshadweep, following INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti, commissioned in 2012.
• This event comes shortly after the joint inauguration of an airstrip and a jetty on the Mauritian island of Agaléga, showcasing India’s strategic interests in the Indian Ocean. The prefix INS is used for ships, bases, and detachments of the Indian Navy.

INS Jatayu naval base:

• The Naval Detachment Minicoy, currently under the command of the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Lakshadweep), is set to be commissioned as INS Jatayu, transforming it into a full-fledged naval base.
• This transition involves enhancing the base’s facilities beyond its existing administrative, logistics, and medical capabilities to include additional infrastructure like an airfield, housing, and personnel, subject to environmental and other necessary clearances.
• The construction efforts, particularly for a jetty, may face challenges due to the island’s fragile ecology, but plans are underway to develop an airfield capable of supporting both military and civil aircraft operations.
• The establishment of INS Jatayu as an independent naval unit with comprehensive infrastructure aims to bolster the Indian Navy’s operational capability in the Lakshadweep Islands, aligning with the government’s strategy for the islands’ holistic development.
• The base is expected to extend the Navy’s operational reach, support anti-piracy and anti-narcotics efforts in the western Arabian Sea, and enhance its role as a first responder in the region.
• The commissioning of INS Jatayu and the proposed airfield will significantly strengthen the Navy’s presence on the western seaboard, enabling the operation of various aircraft, including P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft and fighter jets.
• This development is particularly pertinent as India seeks to counter Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean Region amidst strained relations with the Maldives following the election of a pro-China president.

About Lakshadweep Islands:

• Lakshadweep, meaning a hundred thousand islands’ in Sanskrit and Malayalam, is an archipelago comprising 36 islands, stretching between 220 km and 440 km off the coast of Kochi, India.
• With only 11 of these islands being inhabited, the total land area of Lakshadweep is merely 32 square kilometers. The archipelago forms part of a significant chain of coralline islands in the Indian Ocean, which also includes the Maldives to the south and the Chagos archipelago further south, across the equator.
• Due to its strategic location in the Indian Ocean, Lakshadweep holds immense strategic value for India.
• Minicoy Island, in particular, is crucial as it lies adjacent to vital Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs), including the Eight Degree Channel (between Minicoy and the Maldives) and the Nine Degree Channel (between Minicoy and the main cluster of Lakshadweep islands), making these islands significantly important but also exposed to risks of marine pollution.
• It consists of three major islands. They are ,
• Amindivi Islands (consisting of six main islands of Amini, Keltan, Chetlat, Kadmat, Bitra and Perumul Par). [don’t have to remember all these names]
• Laccadive Islands (consisting of five major islands of Androth, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Pitti and Suheli Par) and
• Minicoy Island.
• At present these islands are collectively known as Lakshadweep.
• The Lakshadweep Islands are a group of 25 small islands.
• They are widely scattered about 200-500 km south-west of the Kerala coast.
• Amendivi Islands are the northern most while the Minicoy island is the southernmost.
• All are tiny islands of coral origin {Atoll} and are
• They are surrounded by fringing reefs.
• The largest and the most advanced is Lakshadweep Islands the Minicoy island with an area of 4.53 sq km.
• Most of the islands have low elevation and do not rise more than five metre above sea level (Extremely Vulnerable to sea level change).
• Their topography is flat and relief features such as hills, streams, valleys, etc. are absent.

Source: IE