On March4-5, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be present at the launch of a naval facility in Minicoy alongside the INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant task units.

In order to defend the crucial sea lands of communication, India has chosen to firmly expand its naval footprint by creating naval stations in Agatti and Minicoy Islands along with air bases following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep.

Situated in the nine-degree channel, which facilitates billion-dollar commercial commerce between South-East Asia and North Asia, are the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands. Only 524 kilometres separate Minicoy Islands from the Maldives.

When Defence Minister Rajnath Singh boards INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, India will be making a significant statement about maritime security.

It is believed that the Modi administration intends to station naval assets at INS Jatayu and has chosen to renovate the Agatti Islands airstrip in addition to building a new one in the Minicoy Islands. This choice fits nicely with the Modi government’s plan to enhance the maritime security of the Indo-Pacific by using its island territories to project power.

While the Andamans and Nicobar Islands are already home to new Indian military facilities located in Campbell Bay in Great Nicobar, the upgrading of the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands will safeguard commercial shipping while also promoting infrastructure development and tourism in the island territories.

The Andamans and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Minicoy Islands are situated in such a way that

The nine degree channel, which runs between Lakshadweep and Minicoy, and the ten degree channel, which runs between the Andamans and Nicobar Islands, are the principal commercial shipping routes from the Suez Canal or Persian Gulf to South East Asia and beyond. Even the commercial route across the Indonesian straits of Sunda and Lombok is dominated by India.

En route to the Minicoy Islands, the carrier task forces of INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant will be a sight to behold, escorted by destroyers, frigates, and submarines. This unprecedented level of military projection will cause the enemy and its allies to reconsider their plans to cause trouble in the Indian Ocean region.