Admiral Soman recalls:
After the Indo-Chinese conflict (in 1962), the defence of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was left entirely to me. The Army refused to send even a platoon there and we had to raise our own land force with sailors in khaki uniform to man the various stations in these islands. So far as the Navy was concerned, as soon as Pakistan started the trouble in Kutch, I had felt that my first priority would be these Islands because while talking to various people during my visit to Indonesia as the Fleet Commander a few years earlier, and having been briefed on the developments since then, I felt a little nervous about these islands. This was because when the Army refused to send any units for their self-defence, I had taken on the responsibility of doing so with sailors with no experience in land fighting. But I had also
placed MYSORE and two major ships in the area till the very last minute. It was only after the war had started and I was permitted to bring the Fleet back to the West Coast that I brought the ships across the Western theatre because I wanted to ensure that no opportunity was given to Indonesia to start anything at the same time. Whether eventually it proved itself I do not know but prior to thatSoekarrno (Indonesia’s then President) was reported to have been keeping an eye on the Bay islands. I was quite convinced in my mind that the Indonesian navy, knowing fully well that only a small force of sailors in khaki uniform was present on these islands, could make an attempt to capture the Nicobar island despite the then pretty poor state of Indonesia's navy".
Was there really a threat from Indonesia? The answer can be found in the memoirs of Pakistani Air Marshall Ashgar Khan (the chief of Pakistani Air Force during the Rann of Kutch incident), recounting the conversations between Soekarno and his naval chief Admiral Martadinata:
President Soekarno said that India's attack on Pakistan was like an attack on Indonesia and they were duty bound to give Pakistan all possible assistance. President Soekarno told him to take away whatever would be useful to Pakistan in this emergency. Two Russian supplied submarines and two Russian supplied missile boats were sent to Pakistan post haste.
Admiral Martadinata asked Air Marshall Asghar Khan "Don't you want us to take over the Andaman Islands? A look at the map will show that the Andaman and Nicobar islands are an extension of Sumatra and are in any case between East Pakistan and Indonesia. What rights have the Indians to be there? In any case, the Indonesian Navy will immediately commence patrols on the approaches to these islands and carry out the aerial reconnaissance missions to see what Indians have".
In hindsight, thus, it would appear that the concern voiced by Admiral Soman about the security of Andaman and Nicobar islands was not entirely unfounded.
