Displaying Military Might, Indian Navy Conducts Major Exercise Off A&N Islands

18 July, 2020

In a covert message and display of military intent to China which has been expanding its footprints in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Indian Navy is conducting an exercise in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to test its capabilities and be prepared against Chinese forays in the sea.

Highly placed sources say assets of the Eastern Naval Command and the Andaman and Nicobar Command have been deployed in the exercise. Major major warships including destroyers, frigates and submarines and allied critical assets of the Navy are part of the exercise.

Putting up a facade of anti-piracy operations, the Chinese have often brought in submarines in the IOR. Over the last decade, Chinese Navy has been sending submarine missions in IOR periodically reaching up to Colombo and Karachi. Such missions are usually backed by a regular ship and have included nuclear as well as non-nuclear submarines.

Andaman and Nicobar Command is India’s only theatre command where all assets and manpower of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard are placed under one operational commander of the Commander in Chief.

Strategic experts say the Andamans can be used to effectively to counter China’s growing presence in IOR besides enabling security of sea lanes zeroing in towards the Malacca Strait.

Incidentally, in his policy paper ‘Time to Leverage the Strategic Potential of Andaman & Nicobar Islands’,  Former Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy said, “Andaman and Nicobar Isands are a strategic asset for India to assert its dominance on the major East-West maritime trade route that passes through the Malacca Strait. It has often been referred to as India’s ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ to the East. As close to 80 per cent of China’s seaborne trade passes through this region, the possibility of it being throttled raises the spectre of the ‘Malacca Dilemma’ for China.”

Calling for strengthening India’s ties with key strategic partners, he said, “There is no reason to deny the US, Japan, Australia, France or the UK access to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Port visits can lead to further graded cooperation in all its dimensions in the islands between India and its key strategic partners.”

Much to China’s disapproval, two American super aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, are conducting rare dual combat drills in the South China Sea where China has been trying to purse its aggressive expansionist designs.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s, they do not reflect the views of Opera News.

Source: newsmobile.in

Courtesy: Opera News/ newsmobile.in