- Overview: In a masterstroke of maritime diplomacy, India and Oman have signed a sweeping logistics agreement. The pact grants the Indian Navy unfettered access to the highly strategic Port of Duqm on the Arabian Sea.
- Key Points:
- A Strategic Foothold: The Port of Duqm overlooks the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea. It provides India with a permanent, secure launching pad right in the Middle East.
- Sustaining Blue-Water Operations: Indian warships and submarines can now utilize the port for dry-dock repairs, refueling, and crew rest. This eliminates the need to return all the way to Mumbai during long deployments.
- Countering the String of Pearls: This agreement is India’s direct answer to China’s expanding naval base network in Djibouti and Gwadar (Pakistan), ensuring the Indian Ocean remains multipolar.
- Protecting Energy Routes: With the Red Sea currently destabilized by war, this base allows the Indian Navy to aggressively protect commercial tankers carrying critical crude oil to Indian shores.
- Q7. The highly strategic Port of Duqm, which grants the Indian Navy critical access to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, is located in which country?
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- Oman
- Yemen
