Fighter aircraft for Thiruvananthapuram station

The Indian Air Force (IAF) station here will host more military aircraft, including jet fighters, in the coming days, senior air force officials said on Tuesday.

The increased military activity, the officials said, was a sign of the IAF fast-tracking its strategic doctrine to exert a stabilising influence over the Indian Ocean from the straits of Malacca to that of Hormuz, one of the world’s busiest sea routes. The Southern Air Command (SAC) was the pivot of India’s emerging “look east” strategy, they said.

The bulk of the world’s trade, including a lion share of its oil shipments, passed through the IAF’s sphere of influence. The threat to international maritime trade from pirates and armed non-State actors could not be discounted.

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