Sheekha Bureau
Port Blair, Oct 29: The Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands & Puducherry, Lt. Gen (Retd.) A K Singh on Monday said that the runways in Campbell Bay in the South and Shibpur in the North are being extended and strengthened.
Presenting the Annual ‘Veer Sawarkar Memorial Lecture,’ at Savitribai Phule University, Pune on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, their security, development issues and their strategic importance and how these islands have the potential to become a Springboard for India’s engagement with the East, the Lt. Governor added that from Campbell Bay, our aircraft can keep an eye on the strategic Malacca Straits, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes of the world.
He said that plans are afoot to build more runways in other islands to ensure speedy transportation of men and materials in time of natural disasters or conflict.
Explaining about building up Defence assets he added that a look at the post-Independence developments in these Islands shows that A & N Islands have been steadily building up naval and air assets and surveillance capabilities, although at a pace, slower than desirable. The islands have the first Tri-Service Operational Command in the country.
“Both the runways in Port Blair and Car Nicobar can handle the largest transport aircraft of the IAF. The aging Mi8 helicopters are being replaced by Mi 17V5 which will boost the capability of the Air Force in the Islands,” he said adding that the role of ships operating from the Islands in combating maritime security threats such as piracy, gun-running and human trafficking are being appreciated by the world community.
Regarding Strategic Importance of the Islands, he pointed out that India plays an important role in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). India’s EEZ is rich in marine resources which are of great economic importance to a growing economy. With several Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) passing through the area, the IOR is of immense and strategic significance to various countries and the SLOCs constitute critical lifelines to East Asia’s trade and energy requirements.
The Islands, by virtue of their location, guard the approaches to the Bay of Bengal. They give India a vantage position to monitor the increasingly heavy maritime traffic between the Far East & South-East Asia and the Western Indian Ocean and beyond and therefore are of immense strategic importance to the country. However, this advantage would accrue to India only if supported by strong military assets.
Regarding Coco Island he said that during the 80s, when construction of facilities for a naval base with Chinese support was detected on Coco Island of Myanmar, which lies close to the northern most tip of the Andamans, there was tension between the two countries. The Coco Island air strip is a mere 40KMs from Landfall Island, our northern most territory.
Recent reports of the presence of Chinese ships in the waters around the islands, once again raises fears of Chinese interest in the waters as they are now a global power, both militarily and economically.
“Our Navy and Coast Guard are maintaining a strict vigil on all ship movements in the waters. The radar stations, once commissioned, will keep the waters around the Islands under electronic surveillance,” he added.
He summarized that the littorals of the region need to unite for shaping the region’s economic and security architecture through ‘Regional Forums’ and confidence building measures, for which a strong democratic and stable country like India serves as an ideal launch pad. The Islands offer our country a tremendous geopolitical advantage in this regard.
He added that India needs to grow out of ‘Listening post/Outpost’ syndrome and develop the Islands as a ‘springboard’ for collaboration with South-East Asia and beyond.
“While much progress has occurred in this direction, to achieve our objective and to realize the dream of an ‘Unsinkable Carrier’, which these Islands are, there is a need to develop their full potential both from economic and strategic point of view. From a remote outpost, Andaman and Nicobar Islands have to become a ‘vibrant connector’ to enable us to interact in a fruitful and mutually advantageous manner with our neighbours. Indeed we have to use the Islands to set up a seamless security and economic link from India to South-East Asia and the Asia Pacific Region,” he added.
