It will be fourth Indian military airbase in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
(Reporting by KM Mishra)
India has upgraded a runway strip in the northern part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands into a full-fledged airbase. The new airbase, INS Kohasa, will be under the command of the Indian Navy. The airbase is meant to strengthen India's monitoring capabilities in the most critical part of the Indian Ocean Region, which is seeing increased Chinese muscle-flexing.
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is set to commission (Indian Naval Station) INS Kohasa on January 24 at Diglipur on North Andaman. The location had earlier been the site of (Naval Air Station) NAS Shibpur, which was established in 2001. NAS Shibpur had been used as a waystation for Dornier aircraft and Chetak helicopters which were on the way to conduct monitoring and surveillance operations in the North Andaman Islands region.
Facilities have been expanded and upgraded to a full-fledged naval airbase. The need for a new airbase had been felt considering the three existing airbases are far away from the North Andaman Islands. Officials have said once the new and extended runway is in place, it could help improve domestic air connectivity under the Centre's Udaan scheme.
INS Kohasa's location puts it just 90 km from Indonesia, 45 km from Myanmar and 550 km from Thailand. But most importantly, it is located in the region close to the opening of the Straits of Malacca, through which over 25 percent of global trade passes. But India's interest is in the fact that about 80 percent of all cargo going to and from China has to pass through the Malacca.
China, historically never a naval power worth mention, has identified the Malacca Strait as a pressure point against it, and has stepped up its presence in the Indian Ocean Region. So, India is increasingly using its military presence on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to monitor China's naval activity.
Port Blair is the only tri-services command in the Indian military, meaning it branches of the Armed Forces - Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force all operate under a single command. Of these, the Navy has the largest representation.
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