Admiral (retd.) Arun Prakash, former Chief of Naval Staff, has underlined the need for strengthening the Andaman and Nicobar Island Command and the Eastern Seaboard.
“It is time the Eastern Seaboard was strengthened to neutralise China which is seeing India as a potential adversary and partnering with Pakistan,” he said after releasing a compendium of articles titled ‘India’s Strategic and Security Concerns’ written by Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar at a programme organised by the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and Visakhapatnam Public Library, here on Sunday.
“Traditionally, India is a non-aligned nation. We (the country) undertake overseas missions as per the guidelines of the United Nations (UN). We had allied with the erstwhile U.S.S.R. in the past and we can do the same in future. There is, however, no immediate need for it,” he observed.
Regional rivalry
He said that the Andaman and Nicobar Command remained a skeletal command and it should be strengthened in view of the “Malacca dilemma”. “All nations except the U.S. are wary of China. The rivalry between the U.S. and China interlocks with regional rivalry. India must draft its own security policy and strengthen the Eastern Seaboard and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Command,” he said.
The former CNS spoke on his association with CPS, and commended the good work being done by the centre by organising debates and discussions on contemporary issues.
Speaking on the occasion, Commodore Uday Bhaskar said Visakhapatnam can become the fulcrum for the Eastern Seaboard. “If Vizag has to realise its full potential, the contribution of organisations like CPS has to be taken forward,” he said.
Agreeing with Commodore Uday Bhaskar’s observations, CPS Director A. Prasanna Kumar said that Visakhapatnam city had not witnessed even a single major communal conflict or other disturbances.
Commodore Uday Bhaskar lauded Visakhapatnam Public Library president S. Vijay Kumar for renovating the library and making it available for intellectual debates and discussions.