Bull Strike exercise conducted by India by recognising strategic importance of its islands
India along with its tri services Army, Navy and IAF recently concluded A special tri-Service combat exercise called “Bull Strike”, with Special Forces and amphibious operations at the remotely-located Teressa Island in the Nicobar group of islands from November 3 to 5 by the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
It is mention worthy here that ANC is the only joint services operational (theatre) command of India.
The combat manoeuvres included combat free-fall and para-drop from C-130J “Super Hercules” strategic airlift aircraft, special heli-borne operations by “Ghatak’ platoons of the Army and amphibious landings by warships.
About ANC:
The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first integrated theatre command in India with headquarters at Port Blair. It operates directly under the COSC.
With the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea emerging as an important strategic space, it is clear that India’s only tri-Service Command, the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), established in 2001 and headquartered at Port Blair, would need to acquire greater military heft. India has failed to fortify these islands, which are its maritime frontiers, similar to the blunder of waking up rather belatedly to develop infrastructure along its northern land border with China.
Why it is important ?
The ANI stretch for about 1,000 km in the north-south direction, with the northern-most island of the group, Landfall Island, being some 643 km from the port of Kyaukphu in Myanmar, which is the hub for the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC).
The islands dominate the Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) along the ‘Ten and Six Degree Channels’ which funnel into the choke point of Malacca Straits, through which at least 70,000 ships transit annually.
About 80% of China’s crude oil imports passes through these straits, which is a serious vulnerability and has been termed as China’s ‘Malacca dilemma’.
The Indira Point on GNI, the southern-most tip of the islands, is only 90 nautical miles from Aceh in Sumatra. A few years ago, Indonesia agreed to give India access to Sabang in Aceh for development of maritime infrastructure. Thus, India will eventually dominate both sides of the Malacca Straits.
