Great Nicobar Project Seen as India’s Strategic Answer to China’s Indian Ocean Expansion

NEW DELHI — The Great Nicobar Island Development Project is emerging as more than an infrastructure initiative, with a new report describing it as part of India’s strategic response to China’s expanding footprint across the Indian Ocean.

The report in Global Order said the project could help India unlock the potential of one of the most strategically valuable locations in the Indo-Pacific. It said India has introduced a new strategic variable into the region from a geographic position that Chinese-built ports are unlikely to match.

Stretching more than 700 kilometers, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands form what military strategists have described as a “natural aircraft carrier” near the mouth of the Malacca Strait. Great Nicobar Island, the southernmost island in the chain, sits near key regional hubs, including Singapore, Port Klang and Colombo. Ships passing through the Strait of Malacca via the Six Degree Channel travel close to the island’s southern tip.

“In terms of strategic importance, there is no better location in the whole Indian Ocean for a state looking to observe and, in certain circumstances, affect traffic at one of the world’s most strategically important waterways,” the report said. “This position has been in the hands of India ever since its independence. However, for the greater part of that time, it has served as little more than an outpost.”

The report said the importance of the project should be viewed against the backdrop of China’s long-running effort to build influence across the Indian Ocean through what Western analysts have called the “string of pearls.”

That network includes port projects, logistics facilities and strategic relationships stretching from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean and into the Persian Gulf. The report said China has sought to reduce its vulnerability at the Malacca Strait by building alternate routes and logistics networks.

Gwadar in Pakistan gives China access to the Arabian Sea that bypasses Malacca, while Kyaukphyu in Myanmar, connected to China by pipelines, serves a similar role through the Bay of Bengal. Hambantota in Sri Lanka gives Beijing a potential staging point in the central Indian Ocean, the report said.

The report argued that China cannot replicate Great Nicobar’s strategic location. Beijing has built artificial islands in the South China Sea, often fueling geopolitical tensions, because it lacks natural geography at key maritime chokepoints. India, by contrast, already has such an advantage, the report said.

“A functional Indian base on Great Nicobar, with all its equipment, like the Andaman and Nicobar Command, having a precision approach radar, underwater surveillance system, and naval communications network in place, will mean that each Chinese ship traversing the Six Degree Channel will do so within the reach of India’s monitoring network,” the report said. “In case of any political tension, this is the most significant leverage one could possibly have.” (Source: IANS)