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India juts 1,600 km into the Indian Ocean. Its coastline runs roughly 11,100 km — revised upward in 2025 from the older 7,500 km figure after the Survey of India adopted a more precise measurement methodology; the coastline itself hasn’t changed, but the scale of what the Navy must watch looks even larger on paper than it used to. India holds 1,382 islands and an exclusive economic zone of about 2.37 million sq km. More importantly, India sits astride the east–west sea lanes, not beside them. Ships sailing from the Gulf to East Asia pass within reach of Indian decks and Indian aircraft. The Andaman and Nicobar chain sits at Malacca’s western door.