Indian Navy 'Closely Monitoring' Movement of Chinese Vessel in Indian Ocean Region: Report

Indian Navy is closely monitoring the movement of a Chinese research vessel since it entered the Indian Ocean region, defence sources told ANI an hour after a report stated Beijing has sent a spy ship ahead of a planned missile test by India.

The development came three months after the ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship “Yuan Wang 5” had docked at Sri Lanka’s southern port of Hambantota amid security concerns flagged by India and US.

The latest Chinese spy ship being deployed near the Indian borders is of the same class as the previous one and designed to monitor missile tests and the movement of satellites, according to a report by NDTV.

The high-tech research vessel has crossed into the Indian Ocean and is sailing off the coast of Bali as indicated by MarineTraffic, the report added.

It also states that India is reported to have issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) for the test of a missile test. Satellite imagery accessed by geo-intelligence expert Damien Symon in a tweet said India has issued a notification for a no-fly zone over the Bay of Bengal region indicating upcoming missile test. The missile, having a range of 2,200 km, is likely to be launched from Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha between 10-11 November, as per the report.

The report said that China may be using the ship to track the missile test and obtain vital information about its capabilities like its trajectory, speed, range and accuracy.

India has raised national security concerns with Sri Lanka over the vessel’s presence in the neighbourhood and apprehensions over the possibility of the vessel’s tracking systems attempts to snoop on Indian defence installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

While China maintained the ship is used for scientific research, the US Department of Defense said the ship is under the command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and is capable of tracking satellites and missile launches.

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