Open-source ship-tracking data showed that China has recently sent three research vessels to the Indian Ocean to survey the strategic waters that border its competitor, India.
The movements of the Chinese ships—the Xiang Yang Hong 03, the Hai Yang Shi You 718, and the Bei Diao 996—were recorded on the Global Fishing Watch website. This group tracks commercial fishing and coast guard vessels in different bodies of water worldwide.
All three vessels were underway in the Eastern Indian Ocean this week, potentially adding to India’s already uneasy relationship with China. The two nuclear-armed countries have had multiple armed standoffs and skirmishes in the past, and New Delhi considers itself the dominant player in the region.
The Indian Ocean serves as a route between Europe and Asia via waterways like the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the west and Malacca to the east. To the northwest is the Arabian Sea, which links the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Hormuz.
The ocean is also a critical route of international trade and transport, accounting for one-third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic and two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments.
The Indian Ocean’s importance was reflected in the renaming of the U.S. Pacific Command to the Indo-Pacific Command in 2018. The military said this recognised the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
New Delhi has been strengthening its naval presence in the Indian Ocean in response to expanding Chinese maritime activities. The Indian Navy considers the ocean a critical area, and the country is a security provider for its neighbours.
The Xiang Yang Hong 03 reached the Indian Ocean on July 11 after a brief stop in Malaysia. An open-source intelligence expert, Damien Symon, mapped the ship’s movement in the region in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter).
The vessel is a 4,500-ton oceanographic research ship capable of long-distance scientific research. It belongs to China’s national marine research fleet and is owned by the Third Institute of Oceanography under the country’s natural resources ministry.
According to Global Fishing Watch data, it returned to the South China Sea on September 5.
Chinese research vessel “Xiang Yang Hong 03” left Xiamen Port on September 29, 202. In the past, Sri Lanka denied the vessel mooring at the country’s main port. Third Institute of Oceanography
During an observation mission in the Pacific Ocean in August and September 2017, the Xiang Yang Hong 03 deployed two underwater sensors in international waters southeast of Hawaii, collecting data during a 257-mile submerged survey.
The ship has visited the Maldives twice this year, causing concern in neighbouring India as data collected by it has both civilian and military applications. The archipelagic state has tilted toward Beijing under the rule of “pro-China” President Mohamed Muizzu.
Researchers believe the Xiang Yang Hong vessel series forms part of China’s dual-use maritime research effort to survey the seafloor and aid in the navy’s submarine capabilities.
According to the U.S. Naval War College, China has expanded its oceanographic research. It claimed that five to ten Chinese scientific research ships may be found operating outside the country’s jurisdictional waters in the Indo-Pacific region on any given day.
By collecting data in distant oceans—like the deployment of surface buoys in the Indian Ocean to transmit meteorological and oceanographic information in real time—these scientific research vessels can support the development of China’s maritime capabilities for global operations.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, more than 80 per cent of the 64 active Chinese oceanographic research vessels have engaged in suspect behaviour or had links to organisations suspected of advancing Beijing’s geopolitical agenda.
China has denied that the Xiang Yang Hong 03 has been spying in the Indian Ocean. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing claimed the country’s scientific research was for peaceful purposes and strictly complied with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
This undated photo shows “Hai Yang Shi You 718,” one of China Oilfield Services vessels for marine seismic acquisition.
The Hai Yang Shi You 718 is one of China Oilfield Services’ vessels deployed for marine seismic surveys. The company claims to be the leading integrated oil field services provider in the Asian offshore market.
The international treaty on maritime law states that research conducted in the economic waters or on the continental shelf of another state can only be carried out with the consent of that nation.
As of Sunday, it was underway in the Andaman Sea, a minor northeastern part of the Indian Ocean bordering Myanmar and Thailand to the east. Global Fishing Watch suggests it operated off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands outside India’s exclusive economic zone.
Tracking data shows that the 3,000-ton ship has been extensively surveyed off Indonesia since the beginning of the year. According to a report by the Indonesian newspaper International Daily News earlier this month, the Hai Yang Shi You 718 completed seismic surveys in at least three areas in Indonesia.
TGS, a Norway-based energy data and intelligence provider, announced on September 6 that it had begun seismic surveys in Indonesia’s Sumatra basin using the Chinese vessel.
Sumatra, an island in the western part of the Indonesian archipelago and facing the Indian Ocean to the west, has been a productive oil and gas production region.
The “Bei Diao 996,” a Chinese comprehensive test ship for deep-sea equipment, begins its maiden voyage on March 30, 2022.
Meanwhile, the Bei Diao 996 left Sanya on China’s southern island province of Hainan on August 4 and reached the Indian Ocean on August 12. According to tracking data, it remained in the waters off Sri Lanka, a close neighbour of India, this week.
The 6,700-ton vessel, capable of operating drones, is the most significant twin-hull test ship in China. It performs scientific research tests, environmental investigations, marine scientific expeditions, and deep-sea equipment testing.
The presence of Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean comes as India continues to bolster its military capabilities. On September 6, an Indian Agni-4 intermediate-range ballistic missile was successfully launched from a test range in Odisha, situated on the country’s east coast.
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