Agalega Islands:
As strategic competition in the Indian Ocean intensifies, Agaléga is no longer being seen as merely a remote island territory.
- Agalega Islands is a two-island dependency of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean.
- It comprises two low-lying coral islands: North Island, the main inhabited island, and South Island.
- The two islands are connected by a natural sandbank that can be crossed on foot during low tide.
- The archipelago’s economy is mostly reliant on the exportation of coconut oil.
- Agalega is strategically important because of its location in the Indian Ocean sea lanes.
- It lies about 3,400 kilometers southwest of India’s southern tip.
- India, under a bilateral agreement with Mauritius, has constructed a 3,000-meter-long airstrip and deep-sea jetty on Agalega.
- The island is now effectively being transformed into a logistics and surveillance base that gives India an unprecedented maritime reach across the southern and western Indian Ocean.
- Its location bridges India’s western command with Africa, linking to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the east.
