INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
After Chinese Research Survey Vessel Shi Yan 6 completed its survey off the coast of Sri Lanka and reached Singapore on December 2, Beijing
asked permission from Colombo and Male to allow another Research Survey Vessel to dock at their ports and conduct a deep water exploration
of South Indian Ocean from January 5 till late May 2024.While India has already raised objections with both Sri Lanka and Maldives and asked
them not to allow the Chinese vessel to conduct exploration of the Indian Ocean for future military operations, the vessel Xiang Yang Hong
03 is currently off the coast of Xiamen in the South China Sea and will travel via Malacca to these countries after securing permission.Made
in 2016, Xiang Yang Hong 03 is a 4813-ton vessel equipped with the latest survey and surveillance equipment and is registered at the port of
objections exited the Malacca Straits on November 20- after conducting an exploration of the Sri Lankan EEZ and South Indian Ocean
The ship was also seen 500 nautical miles off Chennai before it entered Colombo port on October 25, 2023.The Indian concerns over Chinese
ballistic missile trackers and Research Surveillance Ships being allowed by Sri Lanka and now with a pro-China government in Maldives are
with visiting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on July 21, 2023, that Sri Lanka should respect the strategic concerns of India.With the PLA
Navy rapidly acquiring maritime assets including three aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and guided missile destroyers, China is
expanding its footprint all over the Indian Ocean with a string of naval bases from Cambodia to Djibouti on the mouth of the Red Sea
China has already acquired/invested in ports in Cambodia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, and in UAE with an eye towards future naval
operations.In the name of marine exploration, Beijing is actually mapping the Indian Ocean bed from the ninety-degree ridge south of
Andamans and Nicobar Islands to the deep South Indian Ocean
off the coast of Africa and the Gulf of Aden in the name of anti-piracy operations, it is only a matter of time before Chinese carrier
