Chinese warships, subs on the prowl in Indian Ocean
NEW DELHI: Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean has recorded a significant increase ahead of the Malabar naval exercise involving India, the United States and Japan.
The Indian Navy has sighted more than a dozen Chinese warships, including submarines, destroyers and intelligence-gathering vessels, in the Indian Ocean during the last two months, government sources said.
The 10-day naval drills will begin in north Indian Ocean on July 10. More than 20 warships will take part in the exercise, including US Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, Indian carrier INS Vikramaditya and Japanese Izumo-class helicopter carrier.
The naval drill will be bigger and more complex than all previous editions. China has been suspicious of the trilateral engagement and has even lodged protests over Japan’s participation in the past.
A Chinese intelligence gathering ship, Haiwingxing, is understood to have sailed into the ocean in June-end. Strategic experts linked the Haiwingxing’s deployment to the forthcoming naval exercise. The navy’s satellites, surveillance planes and surface warships have also sighted Luyang III class destroyers, hydrographic research vessels and tankers. The presence of a submarine in the region has been confirmed by the presence of Chongmingdao, a Chinese navy submarine support vessel, the sources said.
Anti-piracy patrols and freedom of navigation are the reasons cited by China for its increased presence in the Indian Ocean, forcing New Delhi to tighten surveillance of the strategic waters, government officials said.
The deployment is being closely monitored by the Indian Navy. “Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean has touched a new high in recent months. We are using our surveillance assets quite extensively to monitor their movement,” a navy source said.
The sightings assume significance as the two militaries are in a three-week-long standoff at an India-China-Bhutan tri-junction close to the Sikkim border.
The Chinese deployment in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s most important shipping routes, accounts for four to five warships at any time.
The periodic rotation of these units gave the Chinese navy the opportunity to deploy a variety of assets in the region, officials said.
The Indian Navy has been present in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008 and so far, 64 warships have been involved in antipiracy operations. India has one warship in the area at any given time. Navy data shows that Indian warships have so far made 41 interventions and escorted 3,765 ships, including 394 Indianflagged vessels.