4 Chinese ships are in the Indian Ocean region. Will Colombo host a spy ship again?

As India prepares for missile tests, two Chinese spy ships are reportedly cruising in its backyard, raising questions about their intentions and destinations. Sri Lanka previously revealed that it had revised its previous stance on research vessels to allow them to resupply. It will be interesting to see whether the Chinese maritime surveillance ship stops in Colombo, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s request to the Sri Lankan president to consider India’s security concerns.

Sri Lanka also recently authorized a German research vessel to dock at the Colombo port for resupply. The move drew criticism from China and underscored Colombo’s wavering stance after China rejected Beijing’s request to dock the Yonghong 03 research vessel.

Open source maritime tracking data shows that there are not one, but at least four Chinese research vessels in the Indian Ocean. India Today’s open-source intelligence team tracked the movements of spy ships ahead of India’s planned missile launch test in the Bay of Bengal.

Previously, India canceled the Notice of Air Missions (NOTAM), which meant that the missile test originally scheduled for March 13 over the Bay of Bengal would be cancelled. The NOTAM covers an area of ​​3,550 kilometers, and experts speculate that the test may involve K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Although officials have not revealed the reason for the postponement of the missile test, there is speculation that the spy ship is trying to monitor India’s missile testing operations.

Subsequently, two new NOTAMs were issued covering 380 km and 1680 km off the coast of Bhuvaneshwar and Abdul Kalam Island for the period March 26-28 and April 3-4 Conduct aerial exercises within the range. People’s Liberation Army ships are notorious for picking up acoustic signals from submarines and peering into missile tests outside the Abdul Kalam Island Integrated Test Site in an attempt to link coordinates to Chinese spy satellites.

According to maritime information, Far Red 03 was last seen near Jakarta Island, Indonesia, and set off from Kinmen Island on March 15. Previously, it was reported that Far Red 03 also spied on India’s defense activities when India tested the Agni missile. 5 missiles use multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle technologies. After Sri Lanka refused permission for the ship to stop resupplying, the Maldives, under its new pro-China government, gave the ship permission to implement an operational shift.

In addition, the “Xianghong 01” continues to be active in the Indian Ocean, sailing near the coast of Sri Lanka. The ship’s meandering near Visakhapatnam, off India’s east coast, coincided with India’s announcement of a flight restriction zone over the Bay of Bengal. As a result, the NOTAM for the missile test was cancelled.

It is widely speculated that the “Far Red 03” and “Xianghong 01” will dock at the Colombo port after Sri Lanka lifts its moratorium on scientific research vessels on Wednesday. However, there has been no official confirmation of this yet. Maritime data shows its listed destination as “high seas.” It will be interesting to see if these ships actually stop in Colombo for operational turnaround, and then potentially approach the eastern seas in time for scheduled missile launches, given that the upcoming NOTAMs will be issued on March 26 and April 3. A very interesting thing.

The stated objectives of these vessels include conducting hydrographic and hydrographic surveys to support future PLA submarine operations in the Indian Ocean region. However, the presence of Chinese surveillance ships in India’s eastern waters may also help monitor missile tests at the Balasore test range. Additionally, the ships may be tasked with gathering intelligence on the signatures of Indian ballistic missile submarines stationed near Visakhapatnam.

Sri Lanka is developing standard operating procedures for handling research vessels, according to Delhi-based maritime security analyst Pooja Bhatt. “Sri Lanka’s standard operating procedures mainly involve agreements with foreign research vessels. Normally, countries do not refuse resupply requests from foreign vessels. When a research vessel seeks resupply, it is in a gray area of ​​diplomatic relations. Sri Lanka decides to allow German research vessel to resupply In line with these conventions,” she told India Today.

“Of course, based on the new 380-kilometer NOTAM, there is a strong possibility of another surface-to-air missile test in the Bay of Bengal region in the coming days. We are paying close attention to how long Chinese ships stay in the area,” she added.

Since 2019, India has been witnessing the presence of such Chinese spy ships (also known as research vessels) near its coastline while conducting missile tests. Vessels such as Yuanwang 6, Yuanwang 5, Experiment 6, Xiangyanghong 03 and Xiangyanghong 01 have been speculated in the past to be closely monitoring India’s defense activities.

The other two Chinese scientific research ships, “Dayang” and “Xiangyanghong 03”, are equipped with advanced scientific research technology and are currently active in the Indian Ocean region.

Why Sri Lanka allows foreign ‘research’ ships to dock

Sri Lankan news website Economic Next quoted the country’s foreign ministry spokesman Niluka Kadurugamuwa as saying: “The ban on foreign ships is for research purposes and not for supplies.”

In January this year, Sri Lanka announced a one-year ban on Chinese ships entering its waters. The decision may have been influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plea to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, urging him to consider India’s security concerns at a meeting in July 2023 This issue was discussed. The Sri Lankan government announced the one-year ban after India and the United States expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s contact with Chinese vessels in their waters.

Today, China is also Sri Lanka’s largest investor, with capital and investments of nearly US$15 billion. Recently, Sri Lanka approved a proposal by Chinese state-owned oil giant Sinopec to build a US$4.5 billion refinery in the southern port of Hambantota, the largest single investment in Sri Lanka since the 2022 economic crisis.

In October 2023, the Chinese scientific research vessel “Experiment 6” arrived in Sri Lanka and docked at the Port of Colombo to conduct what Beijing calls “geophysical scientific research” in cooperation with the Sri Lankan National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency. Previously, in August 2022, the Chinese Navy Yuanwang 5 ship docked at Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka for supplies.

Both incidents prompted strong opposition from India, which raised security concerns about these developments in the Indian Ocean. New Delhi is concerned that tracking systems on Chinese ships could be used to gather intelligence on Indian defense installations.

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo lodged a strong protest after Sri Lanka authorized a German research vessel earlier this month. Given the geopolitical tensions, it will be interesting to see whether the Chinese surveillance ship does indeed dock in Colombo.

“The strategic importance of the Bay of Bengal in the wider Indo-Pacific region is turning it into a focus for geopolitical manipulation. The Chinese vessel Xiangyang Hong 01’s passage through these waters to Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, despite the recent ban, highlights a transformation,” foreign policy analyst Sohini Nayak told India Today.

She explained: “While there should be no overt posture on the part of India, we must acknowledge the reality of China’s ‘Look South’ policy and firmly recognize this through hedging and further balancing our peripheral diplomacy and maintaining national security.” Its evolving nature.” Profit comes first. “