Скачать или смотреть Why India Gifted Coco Islands to Myanmar? Untold Story of Coco Islands

The Coco Islands are a group of islands in the northeastern Bay of Bengal, situated approximately 18 km north of India’s North Andaman Island. They are politically administered by Myanmar and are part of its Ayeyarwady Region. Despite their small size and remote location, the Coco Islands hold significant strategic relevance due to their proximity to major Indian military and commercial assets.

Historically, the Coco Islands were part of British India but were administratively transferred to British Burma in 1878. After the independence of India and Burma (now Myanmar), the islands remained with Burma. The two main islands — Great Coco and Little Coco — have since remained under Myanmar’s control. India has never claimed these islands post-independence.
The islands were previously used for penal colonies during the colonial era and remained sparsely populated or uninhabited in the modern era.

Over the past three decades, satellite imagery has shown significant infrastructure development, particularly on Great Coco Island. Key features include:
A 2,300-meter-long airstrip, capable of supporting large military aircraft.
Radar domes and buildings resembling SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) infrastructure.
No civilian habitation is currently known on the island, and access remains highly restricted.
These developments have been monitored closely by Indian defence agencies and global intelligence firms.
Since the 1990s, multiple international defense analysts and open-source intelligence platforms have reported that China has been involved in the construction and operation of surveillance infrastructure on Great Coco Island. Key reports include:
Stratfor (1992) and Jane’s Intelligence Review cited unnamed Indian defense sources suggesting that Chinese personnel and equipment were present on the island, assisting in the construction of electronic intelligence facilities.
The alleged purpose of these facilities is to monitor Indian naval activity, missile tests, and traffic through the strategic Malacca Strait.
While Myanmar has consistently denied these reports, and China has not officially confirmed any involvement, the accusations remain active in defense and geopolitical discourse. These claims have not been independently verified through on-ground inspection due to the island’s restricted status.

The Coco Islands are located near key Indian military installations, including:
INS Baaz at Campbell Bay (India’s southernmost naval air station).
India’s Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island and Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
Shipping lanes through the Malacca Strait, which are critical for regional and global trade.
Due to these proximities, any foreign surveillance facility based in the Coco Islands could offer significant intelligence-gathering capability over Indian defense and commercial maritime operations.