Kuala Lampur, May 16 -- The Andaman Sea is quietly becoming one of the most strategically sensitive maritime spaces in the Indo-Pacific. For decades, it existed largely outside the intense geopolitical spotlight that illuminated the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait or even the Korean Peninsula.

Today, however, the Andaman region is increasingly caught between the expanding maritime ambitions of India and China, the fragility of global supply chains, and the growing militarisation of strategic chokepoints across Asia.

Asean cannot afford to ignore these developments. India's ambitious transformation of Great Nicobar Island has become the clearest symbol of this shift.

The roughly US$10 billion project, involving a massive transshipment po...