New Delhi, April 8 -- India is preparing to commission a new strategic naval base for nuclear submarines and warships on its eastern seaboard next year, in a move aimed at bolstering maritime defences amid China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean, according to a Times of India report.

Located near Rambilli village, around 50 km south of the Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Visakhapatnam, the base has been under construction for over a decade and will allow submarines to slip undetected into the Bay of Bengal via underground pens and tunnels.

"The first phase of the Rambilli base under Project Varsha is almost complete," said an official source. Once commissioned in 2026, it can be scaled up in phases-similar to the Karwar naval...