India beefs up bases

China’s presence in Indian Ocean prompts response.

India beefs up maritime surveillance near Malacca Strait

India’s recent announcement that it will deploy two of its new Boeing P-8 maritime surveillance and strike aircraft to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands could create new opportunities for enhanced cooperation with Australia and the US.

The islands, which run some 800km from the top of Indonesian Sumatra to Myanmar, are India’s strategic outpost in Southeast Asia, potentially allowing India to dominate the western approaches to the Malacca Strait just as China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea dominate the sea lanes at the other end of the Strait.

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Source: lowyinterpreter.org

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