A Chinese analysis ship because of dock within the Maldives has raised apprehensions in India, the place issues have been rising in regards to the potential navy use of the info collected by such vessels.

The Maldives international ministry stated final week that it has given permission to the ship, Xiang Yang Hong 3, following a request by China to “make a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment.” It stated the ship won’t be conducting any analysis in Maldivian waters.

The announcement comes at a time when diplomatic tensions have spiked between India and the Maldives following the election of President Mohamed Muizzu, who’s seen as pro-China.

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The Maldives gave clearance to the ship weeks after India’s different small neighbor within the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka positioned a one-year moratorium on international analysis ships coming into its waters.

The suspension was put in place apparently because of objections raised by India after at the least two Chinese analysis and surveillance ships docked within the island nation within the final 12 months and a half. Last 12 months, the analysis ship Shi Yan 6, performed a maritime survey in Sri Lankan waters.

Analysts say New Delhi’s issues about Chinese analysis ships such because the one because of dock within the Maldives within the coming days come up from fears that the info collected could possibly be used to deploy Chinese submarines within the area.

“Our suspicion is that this vessel, although it is an oceanographic research vessel, is gathering information that could be used by China to expand its undersea military operations and improve its anti-submarine warfare capabilities, as it studies the Indian Ocean environment, the seabed, temperature profile, eddies, currents, etc. That means China will have an edge militarily in the Indian Ocean in times to come,” Abhijit Singh, Head of Maritime Policy Initiative on the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi advised VOA.

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Amid rising geopolitical tensions, the Indian Ocean has turn out to be a massively strategic waterway for India and China, the Asian giants whose rivalries have deepened following a four-year lengthy navy standoff alongside their Himalayan borders.

“Beijing has profound interest in the Indian Ocean because vital sea-lanes of communication pass through here carrying energy, oil, trade etc. What they are doing is reconnoitering the high seas, studying the hydrographic or hydrological conditions because their submarines will operate here one day,” India’s retired navy chief Arun Prakash advised VOA. “China is preparing the ground for a major maritime deployment in the years to come So it is of concern to India.”

FILE – A girl checks her cell phone subsequent to a poster selling a undertaking of the Belt and Road in Colombo, Sri Lanka at China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing, China, May 28, 2019.

The Maldives and Sri Lanka are positioned strategically alongside key transport routes. Although the Maldives international ministry stated that the Chinese ship, Xiang Yang Hong 3 wouldn’t be conducting analysis, analysts stated that was unlikely to reassure New Delhi.

“Once the vessel is there, it is very hard for Maldives to make sure that it is not doing the work it intends to do,” in response to Singh.

A report by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies launched earlier this month stated that Chinese surveys within the Indian Ocean have “clear military value – especially to submarine operations.”

According to the report, China, whose surveying operations had been concentrated alongside its periphery within the South China Sea and Western Pacific Ocean, has additionally set its sights on the Indian Ocean.

“While scientific and commercial benefits may accrue from Chinese oceanographic research, these activities may also prove crucial for the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] in expanding its operational reach and capabilities in the Indian Ocean,” the report stated.

“This expansion poses a significant challenge to key regional players like India, as well as to the United States and its allies.”

Following the report’s launch, Chinese international ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, stated that China’s marine scientific analysis totally complied with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“We hope that the relevant parties will take an objective view of China’s marine scientific research activities and refrain from speculating through colored glasses,” Mao stated on January 11.

In the Maldives, permission to the Chinese vessel was granted weeks after each side dedicated to stronger ties throughout a go to this month by the Maldivian president, Muizzu, to Beijing.

“The Chinese are going to leverage these growing ties with Maldives by conducting surveys in these waters,” stated Singh.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu attend a welcome ceremony on the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Jan. 10, 2024. (cnsphoto by way of Reuters)

Indian Ocean nations resembling Sri Lanka and the Maldives have witnessed a geopolitical tug of conflict between India and China for a strategic presence over the previous 20 years.

“The Maldives has always been a welcoming destination for vessels of friendly countries, and continues to host both civilian and military vessels making port calls for peaceful purposes,” the Maldivian international ministry stated final week, referring to the Xiang Yang Hong 3 go to.

“The deployment of such research ships in the Indian Ocean is going to increase, it is not going to get any less in the years to come,” stated Prakash.