The presence of research vessels have raised security concerns as experts believe that the Chinese could be surveying the Indian Ocean to improve their submarine warfare capabilities

NEW DELHI: About four to six Chinese research vessels have been spotted in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) this month, while around 600 Chinese fishing boats are present in the IOR every year from 2015 till last year, according to government officials.

While the Chinese fishing boats indicate China’s growing footprint in the Indian Ocean Region, the research vessels have raised security concerns as they could be surveying the characteristics of the sea water for improving submarine warfare capabilities.

While the data is of those Chinese vessels that didn’t enter India’s exclusive economic zone, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh earlier this month had said that there have been instances when Chinese naval ships have entered the EEZ and the navy has told them that it impinges on India’s interests. He was referring to a Chinese research vessel that was driven away by the navy after it entered the EEZ near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in September last year.

“Over 600 Chinese fishing vessels are in the IOR beyond India’s Exclusive Economic Zone every year from 2015 to 2019. There are also four to six Chinese research vessels known to be presently operating in the IOR, beyond our EEZ,” an official explained.

Experts believe that the Chinese fishing vessels are coming to the Indian Ocean, because the fishing could be more “lucrative” in the region as compared to in the South China Sea. Some of the important fishing zones are the Africa’s east coast, central Indian Ocean and near the Bay of Bengal. While it does not see these vessels as a real threat, it is keeping a close watch on them. On the other hand, the navy is wary about the Chinese research vessels coming to the IOR. Officials explained that it could be either to survey areas for deep sea mining or to study the characteristics of the water for ensuring the safety of submarines from anti-submarine warfare.

These vessels are tracked by the Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders fitted in them. The AIS information, comprising an AIS code that is specific to a country, is displayed at the navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurgaon. The IMAC is the nodal centre where data from different sensors and databases is aggregated and then disseminated to the different naval and coast guard stations for enhanced awareness. The navy is therefore able to identify Chinese vessels based on the AIS code. The AIS information also contains the vessel’s name, position, course, speed, last port visited and destination.

Every ship has a unique AIS number and is shown as a blip on the display screen at the IMAC. This is counted as one incident or sighting. There have been over 30,000 incidents of fishing activities in the Indian Ocean from 2015 to 2019.

The IMAC examines the movement of a ship based on the AIS information. It creates a data bank based on this information, so that the next time a vessel returns to the IOR it is immediately identified. This also helps in identifying those vessels which have not been recorded earlier.

Naval ships patrolling the IOR also monitor fishing and research vessels. Intelligence from friendly countries also helps in identifying these vessels.

Recently, the navy spotted Chinese fishing vessels supported by Chinese naval ships in the western IOR, while they were moving towards Morocco.