Satellite images, financial data and field evidence obtained by the Island Investigations Unit indicate that India is building a naval military facility on the surface of a remote island belonging to Mauritius, Agalega.

Military experts - who have analyzed the evidence available on the island - say that a newly established airfield is sure to be used for maritime monitoring missions by the Indian Navy.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Abhishek Mishra, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi, says, "It is an intelligence facility for India to provide an air and sea presence, with the aim of increasing reconnaissance operations in the southwestern Indian Ocean and the Mozambique Channel, and will provide a useful location for communications and intelligence gathering. e".

India has purchased B-81 naval reconnaissance aircraft to join its navy (The Aviation Photo Company)

Two harbors and a runway

Rumors and media reports about the military base first appeared in 2018, but Mauritius and India denied that the construction project was for military purposes, and said that the infrastructure would only serve the island's residents.

Satellite images reveal that the island of Agalega - which is located 1,100 km from the main island of Mauritius, and is home to about 300 people - witnessed the construction of two huge ports and an air runway more than 3 km long.

Referring to the Indian "P-81" air reconnaissance aircraft, which can be used in control and battles to launch air-to-ground and anti-submarine missiles;

"Based on my personal information and conversations with all these people in my vicinity, the base will be used to dock our ships, while the airstrip is used mostly by B-81s," Mishra says.

The aircraft currently wishing to land in Agalega use a short 800-meter runway, sufficient only for Mauritian Coast Guard helicopters.

The new runway - which is still under construction - is the length of the runways used by the world's largest aircraft at the huge international airports.

Hotspot

In a statement to Al Jazeera, Samuel Bachfield, a researcher at the School of National Security of the National University of Australia, said that the Indian Ocean is increasingly becoming a hotspot for countries, aiming to expand their geopolitical influence.

"The southwest Indian Ocean is a place where it is important for India to have spaces where its planes can support its ships, and to have spaces that it can use as staging grounds for its operations," he added.

"I think as an addition to the other points India can operate from, this region is very important, and I think it is a perfectly ideal spot for a military base," said Bachfield, whose research focuses on strategic and geopolitical issues in the Indian Ocean.

Using shipping data, the island was able to track more than 10 large cargo ships that made their way from Indian ports to Agalega to transport construction materials.

Pictures and data show how over the past two years the island has become home to hundreds of construction workers who live in a semi-permanent camp at the northern tip of the 12-kilometre island.

The runway on the island of Agalega, which is inhabited by only 300 people, and its length is more than 3 kilometers (the island)

Naval patrols

The infrastructure in Agalega is being built based on a 2015 deal between the governments of Mauritius and India.

Where the two countries agreed to "establish and develop the infrastructure to improve maritime and air communication in the remote island of Mauritius, which will go a long way in improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of this remote island", and in improving the facilities used by the Mauritius Coast Guard.

In May 2021, during a session of Parliament, the Prime Minister of Mauritius categorically denied that the construction was for military purposes, and said, "Let me repeat, absolutely categorically and clearly, that there is no agreement between Mauritius and India to establish a military base in Agalega."

However, according to Bachfield's calculations, this is not the whole truth.

"The purpose of the facilities is to allow the Indian Army, as well as the Mauritius Coast Guard, to access and operate in this area," says Bachfield. "So while the Mauritian government is certainly right that this would provide a better means of communication, that is definitely not the real reason." behind the project.

Mishra argues that "there is no real reason to develop this island other than for military use", and that "India's motive for denying the true purpose of the project has mostly to do with optics."

"From the Indian point of view, we should not be seen as supporting militarism in our region. We are concerned that China managed to get its first overseas base in 2017 in Djibouti. If we did the same it would be an exercise in hypocrisy," he says.

He adds that, "We can say - for the most part - that this base, which will certainly have some military uses, but it will mostly be used to improve the operational situation."

against China

It seems that confronting China's expansion in the Indian Ocean is India's main goal in establishing these facilities, as it wants to confront the rising power of China.

"Over the last few years, the Indian Ocean has started to become increasingly multipolar in nature," says Bachfield.

He adds - referring to the Chinese military base in Djibouti, and China's access to many ports in the region - "We see China working to devote greater influence to it, and we see many Chinese military platforms in the Indian Ocean."

As a result, Mishra explains, India has stepped up its endeavors in this field as well, providing coastal radar systems to many countries in the region, including the Maldives and Mauritius.

With military facilities in Agalega, India will be able to track ships approaching the vital Mozambique Channel.

Mishra says that the objective of India's Agalega island agreement with Mauritius "is for the island to serve as a vital spearhead through which India can survey the entire region, as it will provide it with a useful location for communications and electronic intelligence gathering."

The Investigations Unit contacted all those named in this investigation.

The Government of Mauritius reiterated its position that "there is no agreement between Mauritius and India to establish a military base in Agalega."

She added that the term "military base" means "a facility owned and operated by, or for the benefit of, the military institution to house military equipment and elements on a permanent basis and for purposes related to carrying out military operations."

It stated that the construction work on Agalega was designed to improve the island's "inadequate infrastructure facilities", which would remain "under the control of the Mauritian authorities, and any use of these facilities by any foreign country would be subject to the approval of the Government of Mauritius".

The Indian Ministries of Defense and External Affairs did not respond to a request for comment on the matter.