Strategic military infra upgrade in the works for Andaman & Nicobar Islands

The ongoing large-scale construction activities come amid growing Chinese attempts to expand its influence in the region, which includes the construction of a military facility at Myanmar’s Coco Islands lying 55 km north of A&N Islands.

There are 836 Islands in A&N,  of which only 38 are inhabited.

The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first and only tri-service command in the islands and was established in 2001.

Sources said there are plans to significantly enhance the surveillance infrastructure at one of the northern islands of A&N, and to construct a permanent habitat for troops there.

The sources said that work on increasing the length of an airstrip at a vital naval air station is being carried out in phases to enable landing of bigger aircraft like P8Is and fighter jets. Its jetty is also being expanded for use by larger ships.

As part of the infrastructure upgrade, a road from the north of the islands to Port Blair in the south is being improved for more traffic.

Other major infrastructure upgrades include upgrading an IAF station to hold fighter squadrons, and for longer durations. This includes plans to expand the runway to nearly 3,000 metres and the creation of infrastructure for the maintenance of assets.

The Centre is also working to construct a container transhipment terminal alongside associated infrastructure to support traffic and operations.

Last year, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan inaugurated a modern Hangar and Dispersal system at INS Utkrosh in Port Blair. In February this year, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar inaugurated a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) at INS Utkrosh to enable accurate horizontal and vertical guidance to land an aircraft safely in low visibility conditions as well as the Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence and Surveillance System, the Navy said.

Admiral Kumar had also inaugurated the Naval Communication Network (NCN) Centres at INS Kohassa, INS Baaz and INS Kardi, designed to further augment the communication and operational capability of the ANC.

Earlier this month, the Centre is learnt to have asked the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) to increase its manpower to analyse satellite imagery, technical capacity of NRSC analysis and dissemination of analysed data to enhance surveillance of 55 inhabited islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.

The NRSC at Hyderabad is responsible for remote sensing satellite data acquisition and processing, data dissemination, aerial remote sensing and decision support for disaster management.

Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) held a Multi-Agency Maritime Security Group (MAMSG)-Policy meeting with officials of coastal security of A&N and Lakshadweep, Navy, and NRSC to discuss the surveillance of uninhabited islands.