Chinese vessel visiting SL can snoop on South Indian ports, nuclear facilities — India

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN,
Our Special Correspondent

DELHI, July 31: India is worried about the Chinese vessel ‘Yuan Wang 5’ scheduled to berth at the Hambantota Port next week because its aerial reach is more than 750 km. It can snoop on Indian nuclear power plants in Kalpakkam and Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu.

The ship can track ports in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. Thus, as many as six South Indian ports will be under China’s focus. It can also gather information about vital installations along Southern India.The military and strategic implications of Chinese spy ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’ in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are manifold. Therefore, analysts say that the vessel visiting Sri Lanka for a week during August 11-17 will have major consequences for the Indian security architecture.

The ship has a distinct role in missile and satellite tracking and its presence in India’s neighbourhood has serious implications for this country. ‘Yuan Wang 5’ is lethal in its capabilities compared to Chinese submarines that were docked at Colombo port in 2014.

India’s concerns have been conveyed to Colombo in no uncertain terms. The matter is being monitored at the highest levels of the Indian security establishment here.The Indian Ocean Region has been an area of traditional influence for New Delhi and an area where New Delhi has legitimate strategic interests. The Chinese have been trying to make inroads from Myanmar to Eastern Africa.According to some reports, ‘Yuan Wang 5’ is currently sailing “at 19.0 knots”, and headed to Hambantota. But there are unconfirmed reports that Lanka may deny the ship’s entry at the Hambantota Port.

China has a major say in the Hambantota Port area and much of its activities in the area remain under wraps, according to critics. Sri Lanka formally handed over commercial activities, at its main southern port, to China Merchant Port Holdings in 2017, on a 99-year lease, after struggling to repay its debt. This has caused fears over potential use of the port by China for military purposes.

‘Yuan Wang 5’ is also potentially violating innocent passage requirements in territorial seas as per the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS). The vessel, according to experts, has a capability to snoop on a coastal state.

‘Yuan Wang 5’ is the third-generation tracking ship of the Yuan Wang series, and entered service in 2007. Built by Jiangnan Shipyard, ‘Yuan Wang 5’ has a displacement of 25,000 tonnes and can withstand wind scales up to 12.Wang class is not a single class of identical design, but a group of different designs grouped under the same series that share one name.