Maritime command

2887 Representational photo CHINA’s aggressive posturing along the Line of Actual Control and its growing footprint in the Indian Ocean region have prompted India’s armed forces to considerably raise their level of preparedness on land, sea and in the air. Last month, the navies of the four Quad nations — the US, India, Japan and Australia — jointly conducted the Malabar military exercise in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The multilateral show of strength was intended to unnerve China, whose submarine fleet is three times bigger than that of India, and it did somewhat achieve its aim. Now, India is on course to set up an integrated maritime command that will have warships, fighter jets, helicopters, submarines, aircraft carriers and special amphibious brigades of the Army. The maritime theatre commander will be tasked with securing the sea lanes along the 7,500-km coastline.