The Indian Navy is carrying out an exercise in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to test its capabilities and be battle-ready against Chinese forays in the seas amid the India-China tussle in Ladakh.
Sources said assets of the Eastern Naval Command and the Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Navy have been deployed in the war games.
All major warships and other critical assets of the Navy are part of the exercise. However, the Navy did not give out any specific numbers or the kinds of assets that have been deployed.
"Important warships part of Eastern Naval Command and Andaman Nicobar Command are participating. The exercise is scheduled for the entire eastern fleet deployment," a source said.
The Andaman and Nicobar Commander has assets of Navy, Air Force, and the Army working together and making it a theatre command formation. It is to ensure optimum use of assets from all forces is being considered for other sectors as well.
China has been expanding its naval operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). In the guise of anti-piracy operations, the Chinese have often brought in submarines in the IOR.
In the last decade, the Chinese Navy has been frequently sending submarine missions in the Indian Ocean Region that occasionally closed in on the Indian waters, reaching up to Colombo and Karachi.
Such missions are usually backed by a regular ship. The deployments have included nuclear as well as non-nuclear submarines.
An alternating trend of sending a conventional submarine and a nuclear sub to follow it has been noticed, sources say. India is looking to strengthen its military diplomacy through the Navy to take on Chinese expansionism in the waters.
Australia is likely to join the next edition of the Malabar exercise, which includes the navies of India, the US, and Japan.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...in-andaman-nicobar-islands-1701874-2020-07-18
India seems to be all out in its attempts to CHECK the dragon from all possible corners, and has taken the US bait. History suggests the US and its allies have a tendency to leave its partners in a LURCH when the need arises. Needless posturing by India will only antagonise the Asian Giant further, with a high possibility of the former to cut down to its size.