Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, December 3

Terming the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as India’s strategically extended arm, Navy Chief Admiral RK Dhowan today said infrastructure on the islands was being strengthened to allow submarines, warships and aircraft to be based there.
The islands in the Bay of Bengal sit at the ‘mouths’ of the straits of Malacca, which is one of the biggest shipping choke points of the world as an important sea lane of communication (SLOC) passes through it.
Some 70,000 ships cross the Malacca annually – that works out to eight ships every hour. China’s entire oil supplies from the Persian Gulf pass through these straits and this is India’s biggest military base closest to the contentious South China Sea.
Addressing a press conference ahead of Navy Day, Admiral Dhowan said “The enhancement of infrastructure is on, particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar islands so that we can deploy ships and aircraft to carry out surveillance on the SLOC and the choke point”.
The islands are very important, he said, adding that strengthening of infrastructure of ports and harbours and extension of airfield runways was getting the attention. “All are getting due priority and due importance as (it’s) an important strategic location where assets (warships and planes) can be based.
On what would be the response to an armed conflict in the South China Sea. Admiral Dhowan said: “The Navy is monitoring the ocean all the time and we will be monitoring it even more so in case of armed conflict. It’s a hypothetical question, but we will monitor and take appropriate action at that point of time.”