Context:

In the last few years, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) have gained an important position in India’s foreign policy.

Andaman and  Nicobar Islands(ANI):

• Group of islands: The ANI consists of two groups of islands, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, covering an area of 8,249 sq km.
  • The entire island chain consists of 836 islands including islets and rocky outcrops, of which some 38 are permanently inhabited.
• Governance: The islands are governed as a single Union Territory by the Central Government of India, through the Andaman Nicobar Administration.
• Integrated tri-service command: The ANI is home to India’s only integrated tri-service command of the armed forces Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) for maritime surveillance and enhancing India’s strategic presence in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Strategic importance of ANI:

• Net security provider:  India can leverage the potential of these islands to protect its own interests and burnish its image as the ‘net security provider’ in the region.
• Connection with Southeast Asia: Containing about 30 percent of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), ANI connects South Asia with Southeast Asia. 
  • The northernmost point of this archipelago is a mere 22 nautical miles from Myanmar and the southernmost point, Indira Point, is only 90 nautical miles from Indonesia.
• Important fulcrum of Indo-Pacific: The ANI are at the intersection of the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean, an important fulcrum of the strategic concept of the Indo-Pacific.

Challenges in ANI’s strategic development:

• Inadequate attention to strategic importance of ANI:  The idea of transforming the islands into a strategic military hub has been objected as it could create tensions with Southeast Asian nations.
• Slow pace of development: Internet connectivity, even at the naval base in the capital Port Blair, is reported to be erratic. Road building, airstrip construction, and even the building of jetties have been slow or nonexistent.

Other challenges:

• Vulnerability to non-state actors: The absence of a human presence on hundreds of these islands has made them vulnerable to narcotics smuggling, intrusion by foreign vessels, and other incursions.
• Remote location: Few companies are willing to work on the islands because of the distance and cost. 
  • For some materials, importing from Indonesia would be far cheaper and more cost-effective than sending shipments from the Indian mainland.

Initiatives taken in ANI:

• Maritime hub: In 2015, the government announced an INR 100,000-million plan to develop the islands into the country’s first maritime hub. 
  • It aims to develop facilities, such as telecommunications, electricity, and water which will help in building and expanding strategic capabilities.
• Declining protectionism:  In 2019, a new Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notification was promulgated, allowing land reclamation for ports, harbours and jetties. 
• Maritime exercises: ANC conducts joint maritime exercises such as the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise, Coordinated Patrols with Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.
• Expanding naval presence: Following the Ladakh stand-off with China in May 2020, India is expediting plans for stationing additional forces, warships, aircraft, and missile batteries in the ANI. 
  • There have also been reports of naval air stations INS BAAZ and INS KOHASSA expanding their support operations.

Others:

• Internet Connectivity: The Chennai-Andaman and Nicobar undersea internet cable was inaugurated to provide a high-speed internet connection to seven remote islands of the ANI chain.
• Authority to Commander-in-chief: He has been provided authority to request military resources from the three services, manage land acquisition matters, and has been given extra financial capabilities.

Road Ahead:

• Encouraging migration: There is a need to consider encouraging migration from the land and open up some of the strategically located uninhabited islands to tourism. 
  • This would give India a stronger physical footprint and would help the country track the movement of vessels and people.
• Strategic infrastructure: Reinforcing strategic infrastructure on the islands is a way of highlighting India’s combat prowess.
• Cooperation with strategic partners: Port visits by US, Japan, Australia, France or the UK can lead to further graded cooperation in the dimensions in the ANI between India and its key strategic partners.
• Engagement with ASEAN: There lies an opportunity to make ANI an important element of “Act East Policy” of engaging with countries in the region east of India.