Indian aircraft to keep an eye on Straits of Malacca

The Indian Navy plans to deploy its medium-range Dornier surveillance aircraft at its furthest air station at Campbell Bay in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to keep a regular watch on the oil and cargo traffic passing through the strategic Malacca Strait and two other crucial sea lanes used to ferry these materials to China and South East Asia.

Almost a year after a 3,500 ft runway was made operational at the “INS Baaz” – the Navy’s eastern most air station in the Campbell Bay – Defence Minister AK Antony told the navy commanders on Tuesday to go ahead with improving the infrastructure in the Andaman and Lakshwadeep islands.

The Navy needs to construct repair depot, hanger, fuel dump and residential complexes at Campbell Bay before basing its Dornier aircraft for continuous surveillance of Malacca, Sunda and Lombok straits.

The latest long-range surveillance aircraft P8I – the first one to arrive in India on Wednesday – will be based at Aarakkonam on the Tamil Nadu coast but will add to the Navy’s surveillance capability.

The islands, particularly the Andaman, are getting more strategic attention to counter China’s growing expansion in the Indian Ocean region.

An “arc of democracy” spanning from Djibouti to Port Blair to Yokosuka is being conceived in the strategic circle as a counter-measure to tackle China’s “String of Pearls” which is basically a set of ports with considerable Chinese influence encircling India.

“Few other places bear more strategic importance than the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The Indian Ocean region will certainly gain strategic importance even more in future,” Tara Aso, Deputy Prime Minister of Japan stated at a function in the capital earlier this month. Japan has its first-ever overseas base in Djibouti.

Aso’s statement assumes significance in the wake of the USA repositioning its assets and force-level in the Asia-Pacific with the aim of countering China.

Washington is shifting 60 per cent of its naval assets in this region and investing in new platforms and technologies suitable for the Indian Ocean. Antony said construction of additional bases and naval air stations in the Andaman and Nicobar islands as well as the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands was necessary to extend India’s operational reach.

The approval, sources said, would lead to acceleration of infrastructure creation at forward operating bases like Kamorta (Nicobar Islands) and Diglipur (Andaman) and naval air enclaves at Agati (Lakshadweep) and Androth (A&N).

The defence minister also reminded the commanders on the “operational constraints” in terms of shortage of submarines, mine counter-measure vessels and ship-borne helicopters. While six French Scorpene are being manufactured at Mazgaon Dock, the Navy is negotiating the price with foreign vendors to buy 12 mine sweeper vessels.

  ● Idrw