Indian Aircraft on Cocos? and/or Christmas? Islands

On July 31, 2023 Gessler drew my attention to: 

A very interesting topic at https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/dornier-c-130-aircraft-deployed-to-australias-strategic-cocos-keeling-islands/article67138889.ece 

By Dinakar Peri, writing at The Hindu (TH) on July 31, 2023 NEW DELHI time.

"Two Indian military aircraft visit Australia’s strategic Cocos Islands"

The aircraft were at Cocos Island for close to a week, which can be an important base for refuelling and operational turnaround for the Indian military; India aims to increase its military-to-military engagement, deepening interoperability in the region.

The photo rather misleadingly implies Cocos Airport can already handle P-8s. The photo depicts a mixture of Indian and Australian military/naval personnel in front of a parked RAAF P-8A. This is probably at Christmas Island Airport because the Indian article indicates Cocos Island Airport has too short a runway to handle a P-8. A P-8 is much heavier (taking a longer runway to land and take off) than the Virgin A320s that fly into Cocos. 

The photo carries the caption "India’s access to Cocos and Christian [(sic) TH means also nearby Christmas] Islands would help the [Indian] Navy monitor movements in the Indian Ocean. File photo. | Photo Credit: Twitter/@AusAirForce". 

"Expanding the strategic reach of the Indian military and improving interoperability with Australia, an Indian Navy Dornier [228] maritime patrol aircraft and an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130 transport aircraft visited Australia’s Cocos (Keeling) Islands (CKI) in the Southern Indian Ocean, close to Indonesia and strategic maritime choke points earlier [in July 2023] diplomatic and official sources confirmed. 

“Cocos can be an important base for refuelling and Operational Turnaround for the Indian military, especially once the runway there is expanded to accommodate large aircraft like the P-8 long range maritime patrol aircraft,” an official source said on condition of anonymity, while confirming the visit by the Dornier and C-130 aircraft. According to diplomatic sources, the aircraft were at Cocos for close to a week."

Pete Comment

This activity adds a little meat to the Quad quasi alliance's bones. 

India’s Dornier 228s are very small aircraft with a ferry range of about 2,400 km. But from the tip of mainland India to the Cocos Islands is about 3,200 km. 

So the Dornier flight was probably in 2 or 3 hops. It was testing out the viability of much larger, longer range, Indian Navy P-8Is flying a mainland India to Cocos and/or Christmas island patrol route. 

Also RAAF P-8As may want to fly a Cocos and/or Christmas island to India for anti-submarine, anti-surface ship warfare and electronic reconnaissance of land and sea. The reconnaissance mission would also keep an eye on any refugee boats.

There may be local sensitivities from residents of frustratingly governed Christmas Island about an additional presence of RAAF and Indian personnel.