Expansive mapping of the Indian Ocean Region by Chinese vessels in the name of research close to the Indian waters could be used by naval planners, an analysis by Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) experts tracking the movement of these ships over the last two years shows.
A Chinese survey ship, the Xiang Yang Hong 03, previously operating in the Indian Ocean is now in the South China Sea. The ship is allegedly carrying out a host of operations which include the mapping of the seabed and recording of various other parameters and metrics involving the region.
This ship sparked a controversy last week for its suspicious activities when it was accused of 'running dark', without broadcasting its position in Indonesian territorial waters. Indonesia's Maritime Security Agency (Baklama) intercepted this Chinese research and survey ship running without Automatic Identification System (AIS) in the strategic Sunda Strait. The incident comes soon after the discovery of a suspected Chinese survey drone in the nearby Makassar Strait, extensively covered by India Today earlier. Eventually, the Indonesian patrol vessel escorted the Xiang Yang Hong out of the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone
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