India's warships at Sabang; Modi, Subianto to discuss development of strategic port in Indonesia

Once India develops the Sabang Port of Indonesia as a strategic asset, the facility will give the Indian Navy an edge against China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy.

New Delhi: Two Indian Navy warships were at Sabang Port in Indonesia this week with New Delhi’s negotiations with Jakarta for the development of the port likely to gain momentum during the visit of President Prabowo Subianto of the Southeast Asian nation for the Republic Day ceremony of India next month.

India’s role in developing the Sabang Port of Indonesia will give it a strategic edge against China in the Indian Ocean region.

Subianto, a former military commander, served as the defence minister before taking over as the president of Indonesia on October 20, succeeding Joko Widodo. He is likely to visit New Delhi next month to attend the Republic Day ceremony on the Kartavya Path in the national capital of India as the chief guest on January 26. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Draupadi Murmu during his stay in New Delhi.

Jakarta will send a contingent of the Indonesian National Armed Forces personnel to participate in the Republic Day parade of India and to march along with the soldiers of the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy in New Delhi – signalling the intent of the two nations to expand bilateral defence cooperation.

The Indian Navy’s Shardul-class tank landing ship INS Kesari and amphibious vessel INS LCU L57 docked at the Sabang Port in Aceh, Indonesia on Tuesday. The warships left the port on Thursday after the opening phase of the 43rd India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol – a biannual drill jointly conducted by the navies of the two nations. The drill will conclude on December 18. The Indian Navy had also sent its warships to the Sabang Port earlier this year for the 42nd coordinated patrol with the Indonesian Navy.

Indonesia’s Sabang Port is located close to Andaman and Nicobar Island – precisely 104 nautical miles from India’s southernmost tip, Indira Point, and 376 nautical miles from Port Blair. It is just 500 kilometres away from the Malacca Strait, a narrow stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Sumatra Island of Indonesia to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea and the South China Sea. The Malacca Strait is considered one of the crucial maritime chokepoints on the sea lanes in the Indian Ocean region.

Once India develops the Sabang Port of Indonesia as a strategic asset, the facility – along with the INS Baaz naval air station in Andaman and Nicobar Island – will give the Indian Navy an edge against China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, which over the past few years stepped up its forays in the Indian Ocean region. It will also help monitor the maritime traffic in the region, a source aware of New Delhi’s discussion with Jakarta on the issue told DH.

The development of Sabang Port is likely to figure prominently in the discussion between Modi and Subianto in New Delhi next month, added the source.

When Modi had visited Jakarta in May 2018, he and Subianto’s predecessor Widodo had announced the constitution of a joint task force “to undertake projects for port-related infrastructure in and around Sabang” in Indonesia. Though the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the process, the two sides last year completed the joint feasibility study for the projects for the development of the Sabang Port.