Washington: India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands — located at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca — are emerging as a pivotal strategic asset for US–India maritime cooperation, experts told American lawmakers.

Appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia during a hearing on the US–India strategic partnership on Wednesday (local time), Jeff Smith of the Heritage Foundation said the islands constitute “an extremely valuable asset for any country,” giving India unmatched visibility over one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.

“I would like to see even more US and Indian cooperation around that location,” he said, urging expanded intelligence-sharing and surveillance integration.

Smith told lawmakers that China began sending submarines int

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