Indian Navy Commissions New Naval Base INS Jatayu at Southernmost Island of Lakshadweep

New Delhi: The Indian Navy commissioned its new naval base, INS Jatayu, at Minicoy, the southernmost island of Lakshadweep, on Wednesday.

This new naval base will bolster the Indian Navy’s operational capability and reach in the strategically important Indian Ocean region.

INS Jatayu is the second naval base in Lakshadweep after INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti. Minicoy is 215 nautical miles southwest of Kochi, Kerala.

Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar commissioned the new naval base. He said, “The Indian Ocean region is witnessing an upsurge in maritime terror, crime and piracy. The Indian Navy has responded with an assertive posture in the west and north Arabian Sea, undertaking anti-drone, anti-missile and anti-piracy operations to safeguard merchant traffic in the region.” “In the Ramayana, Jatayu was the ‘first responder’, trying to stop the abduction of Sitaji, even to the peril of his own life, exemplifying service before self. So the naming of this unit as Jatayu is an apt recognition of this spirit of providing security, surveillance and selfless service,” the Naval Chief said.

Among the several challenges in the distant seas is China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean Region, even as the Arabian Sea emerges as a new front with Red Sea tensions escalating and piracy witnessing a resurgence.