Coco – a small, remote island in the Bay of Bengal is a Myanmar territory.
Key points
- Great Coco is small at 11km in length, but its location is strategically important. It is not only close to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, it also lies 55km from India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which host Indian navy and air force bases.
- India has raised serious concern over Myanmar allowing China to establish monitoring and surveillance facilities at Coco Islands to track India’s missile launches off the Balasore test range in Odisha as well as strategic assets stationed off the eastern seaboard south of city of Visakhapatnam.
- China is reportedly involved in expanding an airstrip and aircraft hangar in Coco Islands located close to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- India is worried about the PLA monitoring the movement of India’s nuclear submarines at its newly constructed naval base at Rambilli, mere 50 kilometers from Visakhapatnam.
- The nuclear and conventional missile test firing range at Balasore and at APJ Abdul Kalam Island are virtually on the same latitude as Coco Island.
- In 1942, along with the rest of the Andaman Islands, they were occupied by Japan. When Burma gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1948, the Coco Islands passed to the new Union of Burma which is now known as Union of Myanmar.
