Baaz to keep eye on Malacca Strait

Underlining its intent to tighten its grip on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the face of an increasing influence of China, India on Tuesday activated its southernmost air base in the Andaman and Nicobar Island – INS Baaz – to keep an eye on economically and strategically important Malacca Strait, many a times strategic cargo for the Asian giant transit through it.

Baaz, literally meaning Eagle, will provide intelligence inputs based on ‘airborne’ maritime surveillance by dominating the Strait of Malacca and 6 degree channel – the waterways are crucial to the interests of many “global and regional powers” including China as most of their trade passes through these sea lines of communication. The naval airbase was commissioned by Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma at Campbell Bay on Great Nicobar Island. 

Verma said that the activating INS Baaz in sync with the navy’s plan to augment capabilities in the archipelago, located 650 nautical miles from the Indian mainland. “The Navy has been progressively increasing the number of warships based at Port Blair, under the operational control of the Andaman and Nicobar. More are in the pipeline. Port Blair will be home for amphibious platforms, Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels and Fast Attack Craft, as the Navy’s robust acquisition plans progress,” Verma said in his address after opertionalising the base.

Besides the Campbell Bay air station the Government had recently sanctioned numerous steps to fortify infrastructure in the strategically located chain of Islands with forward operating bases in Kamorta (Nicobar Islands) and Diglipur (Andaman) as well. 

With China making an early entry into the IOR on the pretext of fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy needs to  up its level by augmenting its capability in the region and enhance its relation with South East Asian and Asian countries.

Explaining this, Verma said: “The first policy push has been towards enhancing maritime engagement with South East Asian and East Asian countries. Many successful examples abound. Cooperative patrols with nations adjacent to the islands, like Thailand and Indonesia and Navy-to-Navy linkages with comparatively distant ASEAN nations, like Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, come instantly to mind.” 

“The geographic disposition of the archipelago, separated as it is by more than 650 nautical miles from our mainland, offers a vital geo-strategic advantage to India. Not only do they provide the nation with a commanding presence in the Bay of Bengal, the islands also serve as our window into East and South East Asia. India’s Look East policy has certainly benefited due to the proximity of this archipelago to many ASEAN states,” added the Navy Chief. Most of these countries have territorial disputes with China and a stronger relations with them are aimed at countering Beijing’ strategy of encircling India under “String of Pearls”.

India's southernmost airbase in Nicobar to get commissioned on July 31

Admiral Nirmal Verma is going to commission the southernmost Campbell Bay Naval Air Station INS Baaz on the Campbell Bay Island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago overlooking the important Strait of Malacca. The air base has come in the wake of the increasing influence of China in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Carnicobar airstrip

Statement by the Navy

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a fine example of how development and security needs can be taken ahead, promoting growth and safety, whilst contributing substantially to the larger interests of the country.  The well being and prosperity of these islands and her inhabitants, coupled with safeguarding vital national interests is indeed the way ahead.

Towards this, Naval Air Station, Campbell Bay, will be commissioned as Indian Naval Ship Baaz  on 31 Jul 12 by the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma.

The Government of India recognised the need for an outpost in the Great Nicobar Island chain as long back as 1978 when plans were set rolling for a Naval Air Station at Campbell Bay.   In 1981 the construction of a small runway commenced.   The Island was brought onto the air map of India serving as a rudimentary hub for air transportation, and, with great promise for development and capability accretion, when Admiral JG Nadkarni, the then CNS, inaugurated the Forward Operating Base on 04 May 1998. 

From operations by the venerable Britten Norman Islander of the Indian Navy in those early years, the Forward Operating Base has since played hosts to the Dornier aircraft operated by the Indian Navy, IAF and the Coast Guard; the AN 32 transport aircraft and Mi 8 helicopters of the IAF; and by Dauphin helicopters operated by Pawan Hans Limited.  The crucial role of the Air Station in support of these remote islands was demonstrated when the islands were devastated by the Tsunami in 2004.

Commissioning of INS Baaz furthers the commitment of the Government of India to augmentation of the infrastructure, capabilities and capacities in these strategic islands, overseeing the security of the islands and the vast EEZ in these vital seas.  The busy sea-lanes that lie off these Southern shores connect the West and the East.  These sea lines of communication are crucial for security at sea, and, in ensuring freedom of navigation, so vital for the economic well being of nations and the world.

The commissioning is a significant step as the Government of India has accepted the necessity to expand the runway and to add to facilities at the remote air station.  The commissioning would be followed up by extension of the runway, such that the base can support and serve a wider variety of aircraft.

With this seminal event, when NAS Campbell Bay spreads her wings as INS Baaz, ANC grows from being an experiment to an inspiration.

Southern-most Indian airbase to be activated in August

As China is making strong inroads into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), India has taken another strong step towards bulwarking its defences. India will be activating its southern-most airbase in Andaman and Nicobar Islands - overlooking economically important Malacca Strait - in August. 

 

 C-130J operating at Carnicobar

 

The Chinese Navy was expected to enter the IOR – ranging from Strait of Hormuz in the west to Malacca Strait in the East – in 2015. However, the scourge of piracy helped the dragon in finding long maritime legs and deploying assets in the region, lending urgency to India’s efforts to bolster its military presence in this archipelago.

“The airbase will be established in Campbell Bay, the last in the chain of islands in the Bay of Bengal. Till now only helicopters could operate from the island, but the airstrip will allow the fixed wing aircraft operation as well,” sources said. The Andaman and Nicobar, with its 572 islands, has the first tri-services command of the country that came into existence in 2001 following Kargil conflict. The command has elements of the army, navy and air force as part of its force structure. The airbase will also facilitate deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to keep an eye in the region. 

With a bulk of Chinese trade passing through the Malacca Strait, the Andaman and Nicobar islands stand to give a strategic leverage to India in case of a conflict and also safeguard its economic interests during peace. The Archipelago gives India its 60,000 sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is 30 percent of the country’s total EEZ of 2.01 sq km.

The airbase in Campbell Bay – beyond which lies the last territorial point of India named Indira Point – is the implementation of the island development plan. 

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already tried out its potent frontline Sukhoi SU-30 fighter jets from air bases in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Shibpur airstrip in north Andamans is also planned to be extended from 3,200 feet to 12,000 feet to support all types of aircraft and night-flying operations. Moreover, new airstrips will come up at Kamorta and Little Andaman, while the existing two main runways at Port Blair and Car Nicobar are also being upgraded to facilitate fighter jet, helicopter and heavy transport plane operations. The plans will be implemented in the next few years.

“Plans are afoot to turn Campbell Bay into ‘Operational Turn-Around Bases’ with better refuelling and communication facilities and augmented force levels,” sources added.