Hindustant Times reported on February 14 that Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh will be present on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and with the ship INS Vikrant to attend the inauguration of the naval base in Minicoy early next month.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep, India decided to expand its presence by establishing naval bases in the Agatti and Minicoy archipelago areas along with air force bases to ensure security. in important sea areas.
India’s Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands are located on an important maritime traffic route from Southeast Asia to North Asia, with trade value through here reaching billions of dollars each year. Minicoy is only 524km from Maldives.
The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is on its way to the Indian naval base in the Agatti and Minicoy islands. Illustration photo: INDIAN NAVY
According to Hindustant Times, India will make an important statement on maritime security on March 4 and 5, when Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and the aircraft carrier task force INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant – escorted by dozens of destroyers and submarines – to the Minicoy Islands to inaugurate the INS Jatayu naval base.
Prime Minister Modi’s government has decided to build a new runway at Minicoy Islands and upgrade the runway at Agatti in parallel with the plan to deploy naval forces at INS Jatayu. This decision is said to be consistent with New Delhi’s strategy of projecting power in the Indo-Pacific to support maritime security in the region.
HIEN MINH