What is India planning in Bay of Bengal that has worried China? Chinese Spy ship Yuan Wang 5 back in Indian Ocean, airspace restricted on…

The Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota Port in August 2022, which Sri Lanka leased to a Chinese state-owned company in 2016.

Yuan Wang 5, a spy vessel from China, returned to the maritime region close to India. This makes for an important development as the ship has returned to Indian waters three years after it was docked at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. The ship is an advanced missile and satellite tracking ship for the Chinese Navy. According to the Deccan Herald report, India is closely observing the ship’s movements in the Indian Ocean. Speculation has arisen that India is likely to undertake a hypersonic long-range anti-ship missile test over the Bay of Bengal from September 24 and 25, and the ship’s return into the Indian Ocean is being highly correlated to this impending test.

What is the purpose of India restricting airspace over the Bay of Bengal?

According to The Deccan Herald (DH) report, New Delhi has released a NOTAM placing restrictions on airspace over the Bay of Bengal from September 24 to 25. This has led to increased speculation about India testing a missile. The Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota Port in August 2022, which Sri Lanka leased to a Chinese state-owned company in 2016. India had expressed security concerns to Sri Lanka regarding this arrangement. Yuan Wang 5 has previously been reported in the vicinity of Indonesia around September 18.

Why has China deployed the Yuan Wang 5 near India again?

According to sources speaking anonymously to Deccan Herald, New Delhi is concerned about the implications of activity by the Chinese PLA Navy ship in the Indian Ocean region during this period. The concern is that the ship’s dual-use tracking capabilities could potentially be used for espionage.

The Yuan Wang 5 is equipped with several highly accurate long-range, amplitude comparison monopole radar systems, which are capable of manual or automatic acquisition and tracking of objects either in flight or in orbit. It has a crew size of more than 400 personnel.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

1. The Yuan Wang 5 is equipped with several highly accurate long-range.
2. The vessel is one of the ships used by the Strategic Support Force of the Chinese PLA Navy.
3. The Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota Port in August 2022.
4. Yuan Wang 5 has previously been reported in the vicinity of Indonesia around September 18.

The vessel is one of the ships used by the Strategic Support Force of the Chinese PLA Navy for tracking satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since it was put into service in September 2007, this intelligence ship has completed 80 operations for monitoring, including tracking Shenzhou space missions with crew from China and BeiDou satellites.