Indian navy set to open third base in strategic islands to counter China

About 1,20,000 ships pass through the Indian Ocean each year and nearly 70,000 of them pass through the Malacca Strait

India’s navy will open a third air base in the Andaman and Nicobar islands on Thursday to beef up surveillance of Chinese ships and submarines entering the Indian Ocean through the nearby Malacca Straits, military officials and experts said. New Delhi has grown concerned over the presence of China’s bigger navy in its neighbourhood and the network of commercial ports it is building in an arc stretching from Sri Lanka to Pakistan that India fears could become naval outposts. 

The Indian military has seized upon the Andamans that lie near the entrance to the Malacca Straits to counter the Chinese