Kolkata (The Hawk): The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, which stretches out into the ocean up to 200 nautical miles, would not be entered by the Yuan Wang-6, according to the Indian Navy.
Although it is well known that the Yuan Wang-6 is a spy ship of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), she is officially registered as a research and survey vessel. She was sent to the Indian Ocean Region to monitor India's missile testing from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
Despite the fact that foreign ships, including warships, are free to travel through the EEZ, Indian law prohibits any unannounced surveys, research, or exploration there by a foreign country.
The Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 1 was ejected from India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 2019 after the Indian Navy discovered it lurking close to Port Blair.
Another PLAN surveillance ship that poses as a research vessel is the Shi Yan 1. A diplomatic dispute with China resulted from that action by the Indian Navy, but India stood her ground.
If the Yuan Wang-6 tries to enter India's EEZ, the Indian Navy will reportedly take the same action as last time, according to sources. According to a top official, the goal of this ship is "open sea," not any port, and that is where she must stay.
"We keep a close eye on everything she does. The Yuan Wang-6 is being tracked by both our surface and subsurface equipment. Our long-range maritime surveillance planes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are as well. In reality, we can learn what this ship is tracking thanks to our position. Even if we can't take any action till she is in open waters, we can once she tries to enter our EEZ. The international right to passage regulations would have prevented us from taking action if she had been a typical PLAN warship.
But we cannot permit a foreign survey and research vessel to operate in our EEZ. She will be unable to approach our coastline. There is nothing anyone can do as long as Yuan Wang-6 is in international waters, the official stated, despite the fact that we are aware that she has strong equipment on board that can track her from hundreds of nautical miles away.
The distance between India's territorial waters and the closest low tide mark on land is 12 nautical miles.
Without authorization from the Indian government, no foreign warship or submarine is permitted to enter this area. Foreign submarines must travel through these waters on the surface while flying their national flags, even if authorization is given.
The same holds true for warships. Other foreign vessels are not subject to any limitations. If she isn't stopped from entering the EEZ, the Yuan Wang-6, which is not registered as a naval vessel, can try to enter India's territorial waters. This might put India in a difficult situation.
"The only issue is if one of our maritime neighbours grants the Chinese warship permission to enter their territorial waters. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are our neighbours on the sea. Since the sea is contiguous to these nations, we are unable to enforce our EEZ legislation. For the purpose of defining borders, we have international maritime boundary lines. The Yuan Wang-6 will now be laying extremely near to our coastline and monitoring everything whether Bangladesh permits her to dock at Chittagong or Sri Lanka permits her to dock at Hambantota Port, according to another official.
Due to its crippling debt, Sri Lanka was compelled to lease the Hambantota Port to China. Despite India's objections, the Yuan Wang-5, another Chinese espionage ship, moored at Hambantota in August of this year.
However, since a large portion of Hambantota Port is controlled by the Chinese, the Sri Lankan government had little choice but to delay the ship's arrival.
(Inputs from Agencies)
