Chinese submarine not close to Indian boundary, say Navy Sources

New Delhi: Deployment of submarines and warships by China in Indian Ocean Region weren’t close to the Indian boundary, said Navy Sources on Monday. Sources, however, said China has heightened its activity in the Indian Ocean which constantly monitored by India. The increase in patrolling could also be for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea and to protect cargo ships. The presence of a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean region has nothing to do with stand-off between the Indian and Chinese troops along the border in Sikkim, Sources told news agency IANS. They confirmed the presence of a conventional Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean region for a while. The Indian Navy, too, said "the submarine's presence has nothing to do with the present situation and it has been present in the Indian Ocean for a while now". "Usually, Chinese submarines have three-month long deployment in the Indian ocean. This is routine," a Navy official said. According to IANS sources, this is the same Yuan-class submarine that was "picked up" by Indian Navy's Poseidon-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft as soon as it crossed the Malacca Strait on April 19-20. The submarine of China's People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN) anti-piracy fleet had sought permission to dock at a Sri Lankan harbour in May but Sri Lanka declined it. The submarine then headed towards Karachi and was reported to have docked there. A recent report from Pentagon also confirmed that China continued to send submarines to the Indian Ocean in 2016. The report said "it appeared to be in support of its counter-piracy patrols".