Cable linking Andamans strengthens India’s strategic outreach to Indo-Pacific
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday gave a significant push to Delhi’s Indian Ocean policy and Indo-Pacific vision when he inaugurated a 2,312 km long submarine optic fibre cable linking Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar Islands -- a key pillar in India’s strategic outreach amid China's growing ambitions in the region. "The Indian Ocean has been the centre of India's trade and strategic prowess for thousands of years. Now that India is following the new policy and practice of trade and cooperation in Indo-Pacific, the importance of our islands including Andaman and Nicobar has increased further. Under the Act-East policy, Andaman and Nicobar's role in India's strong relations with East Asian countries and other countries associated with the sea is crucial and it is going to increase," Modi asserted during the video address as he inaugurated the cable link to the strategically located islands. "An early independence day gift to Andaman and Nicobar Islands," the Prime Minister said, calling it a "big day" for the union territory. The PM’s comments and the inauguration was well-timed amid growing tensions with Beijing and China’s fast-growing ambitions across the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where India has been the traditional net security provider. IOR is part of India’s neighbourhood where India regularly conducts joint naval exercises with foreign navies including in recent months with USA and Japan. The next edition of the Malabar exercise is also planned in the IOR and last year India-Thailand-Singapore held their trilateral naval exercise near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A & N chain of Islands, often described as a permanent aircraft carrier is the key point of outreach with maritime neighbour Indonesia. Jakarta on its part is keen to use A & N islands as a transhipment hub besides increasing economic activities with the chain of islands. There are plans to connect Andaman with SE Asia and make it as a hub in the region. Underlining the significance of Monday’s development Foreign Minister S Jaishankar tweeted, “Highlights the importance of Maritime Logistics; Proposal to construct a Trans-Shipment Port in Great Nicobar; Modernisation of A&N infrastructure will have a multiplier effect.” “Importance of A&N has increased in the Indo-Pacific era. Plays an increasingly prominent role in our Act East Policy Significant points in the speech by PM @narendramodi while launching the Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity Project to Andaman & Nicobar,” he further tweeted. “Envisages A&N as a main centre of India’s Economic-Strategic Cooperation & Coordination,” the Minister noted in his tweet. The cable is expected to radically improve mobile and landline telecom services and make broadband speed 10 times faster than it was in the islands. The project - said to be first-of-its-kind in the country - was kicked off in December 2018 and is expected to give tourism, business, e-commerce and digital education a boost in the union territory, which is also a strategically important frontier in the Bay of Bengal. The government is also working on a ? 10,000 crore trans-shipment port project, expected to be completed in the next four-five years, the PM mentioned in his speech. All the modern infrastructure that is being developed in Andaman Nicobar is a key aspect for blue economy, Modi said, adding, "A major part of blue economy is fisheries, aqua culture and sea-weed farming. Several countries are exploring the possibilities of sea-weed farming today."
