India seeks to take over island in strategically located Lakshadweep to shore up defence

The Star

4 days ago

NEW DELHI: Fisherman Muhammad Yaseen O. C., who lives on Bitra Island in the strategically located Lakshadweep archipelago, is extremely concerned that he may lose both his home and job amid India's quest for greater oversight over the Arabian Sea to counter China's growing footprint.
On July 11, the Revenue Department of Lakshadweep, a federally administered area situated off the south-western coast of India, unveiled a proposal 'for the acquisition of the entire land area of Bitra Island'.
The objective is to transfer the island in Lakshadweep, which is in the northern Indian Ocean, to 'relevant defence and strategic agencies of the government of India', according to the notification.
Residents of Bitra Island fear that this transfer would ultimately require them to relocate to another island.
The union territory of Lakshadweep is strategically perched amid maritime trade routes between the Malacca Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.
India has a strong naval and coast guard presence in Lakshadweep. However, China's investments in infrastructure, such as ports and a base in the African nation of Djibouti, and its incursions into the Indian Ocean are prompting India to strengthen its presence.
India sees how China has increased its presence through investments and cultivating leaders in the region, spanning Pakistan and Nepal in the north to Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the south, which Indian experts term a 'string of pearls' encirclement strategy.
The July 11 notification sent shockwaves across Bitra Island, the archipelago's smallest island with a population of only 271 people, according to the most recent 2011 census.
While the archipelago also relies on tourism and coconut cultivation, the bulk of Bitra Island's population make a living by fishing in the surrounding marine-rich reef.
'I am feeling very nervous. Some people are calling us anti-nationals (because of the opposition to the takeover).
'We are not against India's defence interest. But if they take the island away from us, where will we go?' said Yaseen.
'This is our home,' he added.
A 'Save Bitra Island' social media campaign has also been launched to rally support from people living on the other nine inhabited islands, out of the 36 that make up Lakshadweep.
A video for the campaign features aerial photographs of the island, ringed by golden sand beaches bathed by emerald blue waters. The video ends with the message: 'Save Bitra, Save Lakshadweep.'
While no timeline for the acquisition has been made public, the administration has set a two-month deadline starting from July 11 to carry out a social impact assessment survey to analyse how the acquisition would affect individuals and communities.
A local district official, who was not authorised to speak to the media, said they had been asked to conduct the survey, noting that nothing would move forward till it is concluded.
But residents are not waiting around for the report to be done, and are already discussing their next course of action, including taking a petition to the high court. 'We will even take the legal route if necessary,' said Yaseen.
About 40 per cent of global trade and 80 per cent of the maritime oil trade pass through the Indian Ocean.
Lakshadweep's proximity to important shipping lanes makes it a critical asset for India's maritime security. It allows the South Asian country to monitor vital shipping lanes like the Nine Degree Channel in the Indian Ocean, which connects South-East Asia to the Middle East and Europe.
And it boosts India's ability to swiftly deploy defence resources to effectively combat maritime threats like drug smuggling and piracy.
Eighty per cent of China's oil has to pass through the Malacca Strait that lies east of the Indian Ocean.
The move to take over Bitra Island – situated in the northern part of Lakshadweep – is clearly a sign of mounting Indian insecurity about China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean, noted analysts.
Lakshadweep already has two naval bases, the second of which was inaugurated in 2024 on Minicoy Island, which is the southernmost atoll and closest to the Maldives at a distance of about 130km.
The Indian Navy had said at the time of the inauguration that the base was 'part of efforts to augment security infrastructure at the strategically important' islands.
Its first base in the Lakshadweep islands on Kavaratti was commissioned in 2012.
'If this move (to take over Bitra Island) is approved and implemented, it would add a third Indian defence base in the Lakshadweep island chain, alongside the naval bases on Kavaratti and Minicoy. This would increase India's presence and ability to deploy into the western Indian Ocean,' said Viraj Solanki, research fellow for South and Central Asian defence, strategy and diplomacy at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
'This is similar to India's growing presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which enhances India's presence in the eastern Indian Ocean,' Solanki noted.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are located in the Bay of Bengal, near sea lanes including the Malacca Strait.
Notwithstanding environmental concerns and the possible effects on the local indigenous tribal communities, India is going ahead with plans for a transshipment port, an airport, a power plant and a settlement on Great Nicobar Island, the largest and southernmost of the Nicobar Islands, within the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar.
The government plans to handle four million containers by 2028 in the first of the transshipment port's four phases.
While Great Nicobar is spread across 921 sq km, Bitra Island is a mere 0.105 sq km. It has a primary school up to Class 8 for those between 13 and 14 years old, and children who want to continue their education must go by boat to the neighbouring island of Chetlat, which is about 48km away.
The island is also known for a small shrine to Malik Mulla, an old Arab saint who is said to have been buried there, and is a place of pilgrimage.
According to the government website for Lakshadweep, the first permanent settler on Bitra Island was a woman and her son from Chetlat, who started living on the island from around 1945.
The opposition Congress party also held protests against the takeover of Bitra Island on July 22 and has vowed to continue to support the residents of the island.
'The more pertinent aspect is that Bitra Island is the smallest in area and population, but in terms of economic zone, Bitra Island has the largest lagoon in Lakshadweep. It is a very lucrative economic zone.
'Fishermen of different islands park their boats and do fishing,' MP Muhammed Hamdullah Sayeed, who represents Lakshadweep in Parliament and belongs to the Congress party, told The Straits Times.
'We don't want to compromise on national security. But why take over the entire island? Where will they go?'
On a visit to Lakshadweep in January 2024, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a submarine optical fibre connection from Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala to boost communications infrastructure.
He shared photos and videos of himself snorkelling to promote tourism and persuade Indians to visit Lakshadweep.
The visit, however, triggered a row with the Maldives, which saw it as an effort to draw away Indian tourists from its own pristine beaches and natural beauty.
Ties have since improved between the two countries.
Like other island nations in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has continued to balance its ties with India and China.
Underlining the importance of the Maldives for India, Modi, who was on a two-day visit to the Maldives from July 25 to boost trade and defence ties, called the island nation a 'true friend' of India.
He and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu officially opened the Maldives National Defence Force's new office building, which was constructed with funding from India, on July 25.
India has also offered a US$565 million line of credit to the Maldives.
India has been alarmed by China's increasing incursions into the Indian Ocean.
A 2024 report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think-tank, on China's dual-use research operations in the Indian Ocean said that the country 'is undertaking sweeping efforts to transform its navy into a formidable 'blue water' force capable of projecting power far beyond its shores', like in the Indian Ocean.
It noted that between 2020 and 2024, 13 Chinese research vessels with 'concerning organisational ties' were active in the Indian Ocean region.
India and China have a complicated relationship due to a row along several sections of their de facto border. Of late, the two countries have moved to improve ties, but distrust remains, with India wary of China's growing clout in South Asia and among the Indian Ocean littoral states.
India is also seeking to greatly expand its naval footprint, with 59 warships now being built in Indian shipyards, according to Indian media sources. Additionally, plans are afoot for building a further 31 warships, including submarines.
The question remains whether India, which is a net security provider in the Indian Ocean, can counter the growing Chinese presence effectively.
Suyesha Dutta, an independent foreign policy analyst based in New Delhi, noted that India could do more to counter China in the region.
'India has certainly laid a strong foundation in the Indian Ocean, but it needs to elevate its approach to effectively counter China in the region,' she said.
'This requires deepening economic and infrastructural ties with littoral states to offer viable alternatives to China's 'quid pro quo' diplomacy, investing in advanced maritime domain awareness technologies, enhancing multilateral cooperation beyond existing forums, and developing agile, forward-deployed logistical capabilities to solidify its primacy in the region.'
In 2024, India and Mauritius, which is in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar, inaugurated an airstrip and a jetty, financed by India, on the tiny island of Agalega. Mauritius' then Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has repeatedly denied allegations that Agalega would serve as a military base for India.
In April 2025, India and Sri Lanka signed a five-year memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation, which will govern port calls and high-level military exchanges.
Still, Commodore Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar, a retired military officer who served in the Indian Navy, noted that China has deeper pockets than India.
China has infrastructural investments in countries like Sri Lanka, where it is operating the Hambantota Port.
'Delhi is constrained by its ability to fund such long-term investments in the manner that China is doing, but it is seeking to maximise the geographic assets it has been endowed with,' he said.
'In the long term, the elephant and the dragon will have to find consensual strategic accommodation in the Indian Ocean region.' - The Straits Times/ANN