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Andaman Command Key To Checkmate China Strategy
By Anantha Krishnan M.
PORT BLAIR, India
Indias Tri-Service Command is gradually increasing its assets in order to monitor Chinese strategy in the region.
The command is situated in Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands with Port Blair as its headquarters. Officials from the Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC), confirmed that India is keeping a close watch on the activities of China and other countries in the region.
Though the officials stuck to a pre-planned brief on the sensitive China queries, it was clear the strategically located ANC keeps its antennas up round-the-clock to ensure that the region is well-guarded against external challenges.
We are looking at developing assets along the islands in the next five years, ANC chief Adm. D.K. Joshi told AVIATION WEEK. We are at handshaking distance from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. No other region has such a contiguous borderline.
Through its String of Pearls strategy, China has signaled its intentions in the Malacca Strait by boosting its efforts to build ports in Hambantota (Sri Lanka) and Gwadar (Pakistan). The Malacca Strait in the Indian Ocean is pivotal for uninterrupted oil and power supplies from the Gulf to China. We are gearing up to modernize our installations and infrastructure in Andaman, Joshi said.
The String of Pearls term was coined in a 2003 Booz Allen consultancy report to the Pentagon elaborating Chinas designs to gain command in the Indian Ocean. The ANC, set-up in 2001, has had its share of teething problems. It marked the first time that such a unique experiment was undertaken by India. An official close to the situation notes that because the three services have their own distinct way of doing things it took some time for all pieces to fall in place.
ANC photo: Satish, Ministry of Defense
By Anantha Krishnan M.
PORT BLAIR, India
Indias Tri-Service Command is gradually increasing its assets in order to monitor Chinese strategy in the region.
The command is situated in Andaman and Car Nicobar Islands with Port Blair as its headquarters. Officials from the Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC), confirmed that India is keeping a close watch on the activities of China and other countries in the region.
Though the officials stuck to a pre-planned brief on the sensitive China queries, it was clear the strategically located ANC keeps its antennas up round-the-clock to ensure that the region is well-guarded against external challenges.
We are looking at developing assets along the islands in the next five years, ANC chief Adm. D.K. Joshi told AVIATION WEEK. We are at handshaking distance from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. No other region has such a contiguous borderline.
Through its String of Pearls strategy, China has signaled its intentions in the Malacca Strait by boosting its efforts to build ports in Hambantota (Sri Lanka) and Gwadar (Pakistan). The Malacca Strait in the Indian Ocean is pivotal for uninterrupted oil and power supplies from the Gulf to China. We are gearing up to modernize our installations and infrastructure in Andaman, Joshi said.
The String of Pearls term was coined in a 2003 Booz Allen consultancy report to the Pentagon elaborating Chinas designs to gain command in the Indian Ocean. The ANC, set-up in 2001, has had its share of teething problems. It marked the first time that such a unique experiment was undertaken by India. An official close to the situation notes that because the three services have their own distinct way of doing things it took some time for all pieces to fall in place.
ANC photo: Satish, Ministry of Defense
