In the lead-up to India's recent test flight of its 5,000-km-range Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile, potentially capable of targeting much of China, Beijing deployed a second research vessel to Indian waters. This follows the presence of another vessel near the Maldives, possibly indicating surveillance of the test from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
To date, China, along with the US, Russia, France, and the UK, possess the ability to launch missiles equipped with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology. These capabilities are deployed in either land-based or submarine-based systems.
According to maritime analytics provider Marine Traffic, the Chinese vessel named 'Xiang Yang Hong 01' set sail from the port of Qingdao in China on February 23. Open-source intelligence expert Damien Symon shared evidence of the 4,425-tonne ship's entry into the Bay of Bengal on Sunday via the social media platform X. Currently, the Xiang Yang Hong 01 is positioned less than 260 nautical miles, roughly 480 kilometers, off the coast of Visakhapatnam. This coastal area is speculated to house India’s base for nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, TOI reported.
On March 7, India issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) covering a span of 3,550 kilometers. This NOTAM serves as a mandatory notification preceding a missile or rocket test, ensuring neighboring countries are aware of the potential for such activities. The presence of the 'spy' ship suggests it may have observed the entirety of the missile test, collecting data on its range and capabilities.
While China maintains that its fleet of 'scientific research' ships is solely for research purposes, India and some Western nations are concerned that these vessels are gathering sensitive data on their rivals' naval assets in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) for military objectives, particularly related to submarine operations. The recent presence of Chinese vessels entering the IOR just before a missile test is not an isolated incident.
In November 2022, a Chinese research vessel named 'Yuan Wang 06' entered the IOR shortly before a planned missile test by India. As a result, India eventually cancelled the NOTAM for the test. Then, in December of the same year, India issued another NOTAM for an Agni-5 test from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha, coinciding with the arrival of China's 'Yuan Wang 05' in the IOR. These repeated instances raise suspicions about China's intentions in the region.
According to a report of TOI, Some Chinese experts also feel that the range of India’s long-range nuclear-capable missile Agni-V is more than 5,000 km. In 2012, Du Wenlong, a researcher at China's PLA Academy of Military Sciences, told Global Times that the Agni-V “actually has the potential to reach targets 8,000 km away”. Another Chinese research vessel, which has been wandering in the Maldives waters, is already giving the Indian naval forces a headache.