Militarisation of Minicoy Island: Strengthening India’s Starboard Flank

India is facing increased threats through both conventional and unconventional means hence it needs to shore up its capabilities in its western and eastern flanks of island clusters. The eastern side is relatively well protected through the presence of military assets in the Andaman archipelago, but the same cannot be said about the Lakshadweep group of islands on the western flank. There is an urgent need to improve our military preparedness in the Lakshadweep area that can detect and respond to seabased threats in real time. The construction of a runway on Minicoy Island that is capable of hosting fighter/bomber operations would go a long way in assuaging threats, and support India in effectively balancing the power equation through force posturing.