Chinese research ship reached Maldives.
Amid security concerns in the Indian Ocean, China’s research ship has reached Maldives. This has further increased India’s concerns. A Chinese research ship reached Maldives on Thursday. Concern has increased over Beijing’s activities in the Indian Ocean. A Chinese research ship reached the Maldives on Thursday, global ship-tracking data shows. Let us tell you that exactly three months ago, a similar ship had visited the Indian Ocean and had increased India’s security concerns. Now this Chinese ship has reached Maldives after deteriorating relations.
The visit follows comments in January from a US think tank that China’s Navy intends to “leverage the insights gained from these missions” to deploy naval forces that it claims are aimed at “tarnishing Beijing’s image”. MarineTraffic data showed that the Jiang Yang Hong 03, owned by a research institute reporting to China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, entered the Maldivian capital of Male from its port in Xiamen in southeast China. A port call was made more than a month after leaving the home port. Ship-tracking data shows that before its arrival the civilian ship had surveyed the waters just outside the exclusive economic zones of India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Spent more than three weeks.
China said the purpose is scientific research
China’s Foreign Ministry says the research by the ship was “exclusively for peaceful purposes for the benefit of scientific understanding”. In recent years, India has expressed concern about the presence of Chinese research vessels in the Indian Ocean, even if they do not belong to the military. An Indian security official previously said the ships were “dual-use”, meaning the data they collect can be used for both civilian and military purposes. Let us tell you that China’s Jiang Yang Hong 03 has visited the Indian Ocean several times. There is suspicion of spying from this ship.
Indonesia also worried
Indonesia is also worried about this Chinese spy ship. Indonesian officials became concerned when it passed through the Sunda Strait in Indonesia in 2021. He said it had shut down its tracking system three times. Chinese research ships have also stopped in Sri Lanka. In 2022, India was also worried when Yuan Wang 5, a military ship capable of tracking rocket and missile launches, arrived in Colombo. The last time a Chinese research ship stopped in Sri Lanka was in October 2023, which again raised India’s concerns. But in January, the island nation imposed a one-year ban on foreign research vessels, effectively denying China port calls.
Read also
Container ship collides with bridge in Guangzhou, China, 2 people died in the accident
Iran’s gas pipeline burst due to Israeli attack, Tehran called the explosion a big conspiracy
Latest World News