India keeping watch on 'large presence of Chinese vessels' in Indian ocean: Navy chief
Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar
India's Navy chief on Saturday said that there is a "large presence" of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean and that the nation keeps a "very close watch" in the region to protect and preserve its national interests in the maritime domain. Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar was speaking during an interaction at a conclave in New Delhi.
"We are keeping a very close watch in the Indian Ocean Region... and effort is to know whose presence is there and what are they up to, monitoring it 24x7 and we deploy aircraft, UAVs, ships, submarines, etc.," said the Navy chief.
PTI reports that when asked about the threats, the Navy chief said besides the conventional and non-conventional threats, a "web of threats" which he described as a "silent and inclusive paradigm" are emerging.
He said that "the Indian Navy's role is to protect, promote and preserve national interests in the maritime domain, wherever they are, and it asses the threats and challenges."
"On a daily basis, it is being seen that there is a certain amount of contestation happening at sea. It is well below the threshold of conflict, but the possibility of a full-fledged cannot be ruled out," added the Navy chief.
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Answering a question about China's PLA (People's Liberation Army) ships docking at Pakistan's port, he said that these ships are docking at ports in various countries, and not just in India's neighbourhood. He also said that India is keeping a "watch" on these vessels in Pakistan ports.
"There is a large presence of Chinese vessels. At any point of time, there are 3-6 Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean Region," he said, adding that some of these are close to the Gulf of Oman, while others are in the eastern part of the IOR, among other places.
He also said that "Chinese research vessels are ever present, numbering from 2-4 and Chinese fishing vessels as well. So, there is a large presence of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean Region, and Indian Navy keeps track of it."
"So, we refine our plans, actions that are required to be taken, and this also feeds into our capability development," the Navy chief said.
When asked about Chinese research vessels, Admiral Kumar as per PTI said that they have the ability to track and collect electronic signals and that when they operate, close to "our areas of national interest", the Indian Navy keeps an eye, and it has its ships which "monitor them very, very closely."
(With inputs from agencies)
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