Our Scans · Cocos Islands · Weekly Summary

• Situated less than thirty miles north of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands, any potential militarization of the Coco Islands by the Chinese could pose a significant threat to India's security in the Indian Ocean. The National Interest
• Australia will spend more than $2 billion upgrading air bases between RAAF Base Learmonth and the Cocos Islands. Australian Aviation
• Australia will be supporting India in tracking the Gaganyaan mission - India's first space-manned mission - at Cocos Keeling Island. Australian Institute of International Affairs
• Costa Rica announced it will ramp up its ocean protection from 2.5% to 30% and will also expand the area designated to the Cocos Islands National Park. Future Crunch
• There is a growing concern that proposed infrastructure upgrades on the Cocos Islands will experience a major cost overrun. Defence Connect
• The new marine area will link Ecuador's Galapagos Islands with the islands of Coiba (Panama), Malpelo (Colombia) and Coco (Costa Rica). Qatar-Tribune
• The new marine area will eventually link Ecuador's Galapagos Islands with Panama's Coiba islands, Colombia's Malpelo and Costa Rica's Coco. Deutsche Welle
• The new corridor in the Pacific Ocean expands the protected areas surrounding the Galapagos Islands to include Malpelo, Coco and Coiba and will protect hammerhead sharks, humpback whales, rays and other species. The Costa Rica News
• Expanding the Cocos Island National Park is a big step forward for Costa Rica and for safeguarding 30% of the ocean by 2030. Mission Blue
• The expansion of Cocos Island National Park is a testament of the ocean leadership of the Costa Rica government, which further protects that World Heritage Site from the increasing threat of industrial fishing. National Geographic Society Newsroom
• Australia will be supporting that mission, which will see India send a small crew into orbit no earlier than 2023, by tracking it through a ground station on the Cocos Islands. Information Age
• Leading environment groups have welcomed the Australian Government's draft plans for two new marine parks off Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands, saying the proposed parks will be a major step forward for global marine conservation and for the local communities. Sea Save
• Upgraded airfields across Australia's north and even west of Christmas Island - Cocos Keeling Islands - could be home to regional air surveillance flights. ABC (Australia)
• Australia should acquire a fleet of six off-the-shelf modified submarines along with a mothership to re-service them that could be based at Christmas Island and Cocos Keeling. Skynews

Last updated: 19 June 2025