NEW DELHI: India has conducted a major military exercise in the strategically-located Andaman and Nicobar Island archipelago, which with requisite force-levels and infrastructure, can effectively act as a pivot to counter China's strategic moves in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as well as ensure security of sea lanes converging towards the Malacca Strait.
The "Defence of A&N Islands Exercise" (DANX), with fighters, heavy-lift transport aircraft, warships, infantry combat vehicles, special forces and regular troops, was conducted from November 20 to 24 to fine-tune operational drills and synergy among the Army, Navy and IAF in the region.
The tri-Service A&N Command (ANC), which was set up in October 2001, is the country's only theatre command, with all the manpower and assets of the Army, Navy and IAF placed under one operational commander.
But the ANC has suffered from relative neglect due to turfs wars, lack of resources, environmental concerns and general politico-bureaucratic apathy over the years. The NDA government, however, has signalled its intent to bolster the ANC, with defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman visiting the 572-island cluster last month.
"DANX, the first such major exercise of the ANC, was planned for synergistic application of forces. The main objective of the exercise was to practice and validate procedures and drills aimed at defending the A&N Islands," said an officer.
"The highlights of the exercise were fighter operations, night para jumps at sea, slithering of troops from helicopters and amphibious landings of troops by ships. One particular drill revolved around the recapture of an island that had fallen into enemy hands. The ANC commander-in-chief Vice Admiral Bimal Verma urged all to focus on the takeaways from the exercise and be fully prepared for any eventuality in future," he added.