By Zarak Khan | 2026-05-13

India is accelerating a $9 billion strategic overhaul of the remote Great Nicobar Island, aiming to turn the southernmost edge of its territory into a permanent military and economic outpost to counter China's expanding footprint in the Indian Ocean.

The project, which includes a major transshipment port and a dual use military-civilian airport, would place Indian forces about 150km from the Strait of Malacca. The strait is one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.

The strait serves as the shortest shipping route between the Indian and Pacific oceans and is a critical artery for goods manufactured across East and Southeast Asia, according to The Times of India.

The Indian government said it aims to transform Great Nicobar into a "strategic maritime and economic hub" by leveraging its proximity — about 40 nautical miles — to the East-West international shipping corridor while reducing reliance on foreign transshipment ports for trade and logistics.

The plan includes a 14.2-million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) international container transshipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, a 450-megavolt-ampere gas- and solar-based power plant and a planned township, according to a May 1 government statement.

The development will "substantially strengthen India's presence in the Andaman Sea and Southeast Asia, enhance maritime and defense capabilities, and integrate the island with global trade and logistics networks," New Delhi said.

China's Malacca dilemma

Beijing has long viewed the Strait of Malacca as a point of strategic vulnerability because of its central role in China's trade and energy supply chains.

Ships on the waterway carry manufactured goods produced across East and Southeast Asia -- particularly China -- to Europe and West Asia, according to The Times of India.

The strait is critical to China's energy security. An estimated 75% to 80% of China's energy imports traverse the narrow waterway, the report added.

Expanding defense role

Strategic analysts say the Great Nicobar project is closely tied to India's ambition to position itself as a "net security provider" in the Indian Ocean region.

Under the project, the Indian government is upgrading airstrips operated by the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) -- India's only integrated tri-service military command, headquartered at Sri Vijaya Puram -- for "dual-use activation," according to a May 4 Khmer Times report.

A phased transformation of the ANC's jurisdiction into a strategic outpost would "strengthen India's image as a preferred security partner among Indian Ocean littorals," the report said.

In June, Indian and Japanese ministers responsible for waterways and infrastructure met on the sidelines of a conference in Oslo to discuss sustainable technologies, disaster-resilient infrastructure and connectivity projects aimed at developing India's Andaman and Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep island territories into "smart islands."

"The influence of the Chinese navy is only likely to increase from now on to ensure that sea lanes are not interfered with," retired Brig. Arun Sahgal, executive director of the Forum for Strategic Initiative in New Delhi, told Defense News on May 8.

He said it was imperative for India to "ensure freedom of navigation if it has to keep its leverage in this region."

Countering China's reach

The Great Nicobar Island project forms part of India's broader strategic push back against China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean region.

Over the past two decades, Beijing has advanced its so-called "string of pearls" strategy, establishing a network of commercial and military-linked ports and maritime facilities across the Indian Ocean.

China has secured strategic access to Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka and Kyaukpyu Port in Burma under the strategy, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Rajeev Chaudhry, former director general of India's Border Roads Organisation, said.

China's regional maritime presence would be "countered by a strong strategic and economic hub at Campbell Bay and Galathea Bay" on Great Nicobar Island, Chaudhry told The Times of India on May 3.

China is "wary of such a project at Great Nicobar Island because it would enhance India's surveillance over maritime trade and military movements in the region," he said.

China deploys submarines annually and sends more than nine surveillance vessels into the region each year, Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said.

Beijing monitors Indian space launches from Great Coco Island, Burma; conducts mapping activities in the Bay of Bengal; and is expanding its fishing presence in the Indian Ocean while tightening control over the South China Sea, he said.

"The infrastructure being built is economic in intent, but can be used for military purposes depending on the threat level," Kondapalli told German broadcaster DW.