Chinese spy ship spotted miles away from Vizag coast raises questions

A Chinese spy ship, Xiang Yang Hong 01, has been spotted as close as 260 nautical miles away from the Visakhapatnam coast in India. The ship reportedly entered the Bay of Bengal on 10 March, following its departure from the port of Qingdao, in China, on 23 February. Notably, important Indian nuclear missile submarines are stationed in Visakhapatnam. Another vessel, Xing Yang Hong 03 is already present in the Indian Ocean region, performing hydrographic surveys. This ship recently visited Male on March 5, following Sri Lanka’s one-year ban on Chinese surveillance ships docking at its ports.

Only three days ago, on 7 March, India had issued two Notices To Air Missions (NOTAM), for two missile tests, one from 11 to 16 March, and the other on 13 March. Both missile tests are set to occur over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean Region. The NOTAM is a notice that conveys information to personnel involved in flight operations. In this case, the NOTAM communicated a no-fly zone, restricting flight movement over the Bay of Bengal over an area spanning 3,550 km.

This restriction was possibly imposed to accommodate missile testing that is underway from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island near Odisha. Both the Chinese vessels were recorded traversing the area that was mentioned in the NOTAM. It is worth considering that the vessels might be deployed to track the missile tests and gather data.

The issued NOTAMs are likely related to the routine testing of the Agni-5 and the K-4 missiles.

Reportedly, such Chinese spy ship sightings in the oceanic regions around India are not uncommon. In November 2022, India had to cancel a NOTAM when the Yuan Wang 06 entered the Indian Ocean region to observe a test launch. Following this incident, the Yuan Wang 05 arrived in the region a month later to monitor the first nighttime launch of an Agni-5 missile, which was testing new technologies and equipment.