Chinese research ship enters Indian Ocean, on way to dock at Malé, raises concern for India

New Delhi: A Chinese research vessel was entering the Indian Ocean Monday, on its way to the Maldivian capital Malé, according to maritime analytics provider Marine Traffic, amid New Delhi’s growing concerns over Beijing’s activity in the Indian Ocean region.

The vessel’s planned docking in Malé comes weeks after Sri Lanka — where such Chinese vessels were given permission to dock till the start of this year — reportedly banned them from berthing in its ports.

The Xiang Yang Hong 03 left the Chinese port of Sanya, located in its southernmost province of Hainan, on 16 January and is scheduled to reach Malé on 8 February, according to Marine Traffic. The ship is expected to explore the southern Indian Ocean for five months from January to May this year.

On 3 January, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu gave permission to Chinese research vessels to dock in the Maldives “despite sustained pressure from the Indian government”, online news website Sri Lanka Guardian reported.

The green signal by Muizzu came days before his state visit to China and followed Maldivian vice-president Hussain Mohamed Latheef’s visit to China last December, to attend the ‘China-Indian Ocean Region Forum on Development Cooperation’ organised by China International Development Cooperation Agency.

India had raised objections with the governments of Sri Lanka and the Maldives regarding the docking of Xiang Yang Hong 03 in their ports, Hindustan Times reported last month.

Allowing the Chinese ship to dock in the Maldives despite Indian objections seems another effort by the Muizzu administration to sideline India.

The island nation had earlier this month announced a $37-million deal to purchase Turkish-made military drones to patrol the high seas — a task presently done by India in partnership with the Maldivian defence forces, as reported by ThePrint.

The country has also set a 15 March deadline for India to remove all its troops from the island. India has maintained a military presence in the island nation over the past few decades.

Last October, Chinese research vessel Shiyan 6 had docked at the port of Colombo till 28 October for replenishment, despite external affairs minister S. Jaishankar raising the issue with Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe on 11 October, according to another report in Hindustan Times.

The Sri Lankan government is now said to have instituted a moratorium on Chinese research vessels from berthing at its ports or operating within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for a year starting from 1 January.

Xiang Yang Hong 03

The 2016-built Xiang Yang Hong 03 is registered at the port of Xiamen in China as a research/survey vessel with a gross tonnage of 4,813, according to Marine Traffic.

The Xiang Yang Hong class of survey ships are suspected of operating unmanned gliders underwater in the Indian Ocean to map the seabed, ThePrint reported in 2021.

Such data is civilian-defence agnostic i.e. can be used for both civilian and defence purposes, H.I. Sutton, a defence and open source intelligence (OSINT) analyst, had then said.

The Xiang Yang Hong 03 has also been accused of “running dark”, i.e., operating without broadcasting its position, in Indonesian territorial waters.

The Indonesian coast guard intercepted the ship after a Chinese-made Seawing uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) was found in Indonesian waters, according to a report in U.S. Naval Institute News, part of the non-profit military association U.S. Naval Institute.

The report added that information gathered by such UUV gliders can be used for legitimate scientific research, but also has military applications, including for naval intelligence and planning submarine operations.

Xiang Yang Hong 03 is no stranger to the Indian Ocean region. In 2018, it surveyed the waters of Myanmar. It was the first expedition by a Chinese vessel in Myanmarese waters, according to the Chinese news website CGTN.

In 2019 and 2020, the vessel conducted survey expeditions in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean region, Damien Symon, an OSINT analyst, said in a post on social media Monday.

Muizzu’s China tilt 

Ties between Malé and New Delhi have been tense since three Maldivian deputy ministers made disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. The three have since been suspended.

However, even as the row over the remarks broke, Muizzu was on a state-visit to China where the two governments inked over 20 key MoUs.

According to the Maldivian government, at least two agreements were signed between its ministry of fisheries and ocean resources and the Chinese ministry of natural resources on ‘Marine Cooperation Toward Blue Partnership’ and one between the same Maldivian ministry and the Chinese ministry of commerce on ‘Deepening Blue Economy Cooperation’.

These agreements indicate an expansion of maritime cooperation between Malé and Beijing.

ThePrint reached the president’s office in the Maldives on email with queries about what specific areas of maritime cooperation had been agreed upon between the two countries, but received no response till the time of publication of this report. The article will be updated if and when a response is received.

The Muizzu administration has also decided against renewing a hydrographic survey agreement with India that is set to expire in June 2024. The agreement signed on 8 June, 2019, allowed India to conduct comprehensive surveys of Maldives’ territorial waters.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)