India's Strategic Trump Card: The Andaman & Nicobar Islands

8 hours ago

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The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are not just an important strategic outpost for India; rather, their position places India close to the sea routes that connect the Bay of Bengal with Southeast Asia, giving the country a strategic position in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the significance of the islands lies not only in where they are located, but in the increasing capability of India to use the islands for its maritime surveillance, operations, and engagements with the neighbouring nations.

Illustration by The Geostrata

Especially with China’s increasing footprint in the Indian Ocean, often explained by the “String of Pearls”, the Andaman & Nicobar Islands become extremely important for India’s maritime doctrine and continue to play an integral role in shaping India’s response to the changing power dynamics in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean.

GEOGRAPHY ADVANCING SECURITY

India has a geographical advantage from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' prime location in the eastern Indian Ocean and their proximity to the Malacca Strait. They are close to the sea lanes that connect East and Southeast Asia with the Indian Ocean, yet this does not imply that India has direct authority over the Malacca Strait. Despite that, India's proximity to these channels enables it to monitor activities that could potentially impact its commercial and security interests more closely. Further, its capacity to develop airpower outside of its coastal seas is also enhanced by the Navy's aircraft carriers, such as INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.

Aerial and electronic surveillance bolster the island's coastline security, while coordinated patrols with countries such as Indonesia and others have assisted in combating illegal fishing, smuggling, and other maritime dangers. However, the value of this location depends on what India can do with the information it gathers. Strategically, India can potentially keep an eye on regional activity and take appropriate action when a threat materialises with effective monitoring. The Coast Guard performs 30-35 craft, 18-20 ships, and 10-12 aircraft sorties on a daily basis, which includes surveillance around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Moreover, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is India’s only joint service operational command, combining the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard under a single command system, making the islands even more powerful.

The P-8I aircraft further improves India’s ability to gather intelligence in the region through the use of its long-range sensor systems in the eastern Indian Ocean.

CHINA IN IOR

These geographic and operational advantages become even more consequential as the maritime balance in the Indian Ocean evolves. China's growing economic and naval strength in the Indian Ocean has made India's eastern maritime region significant. For instance, the presence of Chinese military activity in the region poses a threat to India because it could bring a competing military presence closer to India’s eastern border. Therefore, it is essential for India to keep track of the activities in the IOR and be prepared to react accordingly in the region.

The greater significance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands lies in the fact that they enable better maritime understanding, which includes enhanced visibility, presence, and interactions with the nations of Southeast Asia, most of which have become highly important in today's time. India’s cooperation with Singapore is another example of the same; through the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX), the countries strengthen their interoperability. This strategy reflects India’s approach of building regional security through partnership rather than confrontation.

QUAD IN INDO-PACIFIC

QUAD initiatives can further complement the region's advantage and India’s approach through the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), aimed at providing stakeholders with timely maritime data, which will enable India to have more flexibility in building its data profile in the region. In fact, the importance of the QUAD does not lie in the fact that it will use these islands as a military base; rather, the cooperation within the framework can help India connect the regional scale of its capabilities through combining the maritime experience with its partner countries. In this way, the islands can serve as a link between India’s capabilities and its broader Indo-Pacific engagement.

HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE Another card for the island is that of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), which offers a more comprehensive approach to India’s maritime activities. It connects security, capabilities for disaster management, search and rescue, and cooperation with regional nations.

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) further plays a vital part in India’s SAGAR strategy, which enables India’s maritime capabilities to help the region during disasters.

The example of India’s reaction to the earthquake in Myanmar, commonly known as Operation Brahma in March 2025, where ships from the Indian Navy – Karmuk and LCU 52 were dispatched to Yangon to provide field medical facilities and relief supplies, clearly demonstrates how the maritime power of India can also assist regional emergency situations. Such operations position India as a first responder while establishing trust in neighbouring nations.

Overall, the importance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands depends on India's ability to overcome its viewpoint, seeing the islands more as a geographical military base. The islands significantly position India to influence the maritime environment surrounding its eastern entry point with greater awareness, presence, and regional cooperation. With the growing Chinese footprint in the Indian Ocean and increased maritime rivalry, the islands offer to boost India’s capacity and its engagement with Southeast Asia to support wider Indo-Pacific relationships. Importantly, India’s priority therefore should be to strengthen infrastructure, operational capabilities and regional partnerships, allowing the islands’ geographical advantage to translate into greater maritime awareness and sustained regional engagement.