A research vessel from China has reportedly raced up the Indian eastern seaboard within just some days of India issuing its alarm for an impending missile test off the coast of Odisha. It is currently anchored in the international waters off the country’s coastline. The Agni-V missile test with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (popular as MIRV) technology was successfully completed on Monday. PM Modi also acknowledged the test through an update on X.

The Chinese warship, Xian Yang Hong 01, is now less than 260 nautical miles from the Visakhapatnam shore. Incidentally, that’s also the location where India bases three of its nuclear-powered ballistic missile subs, understood to be the most sensitive weapons systems in the country’s arsenal. There were reports that the missile India had been planning was K-4, a nuclear that’s a capable missile exclusively designed to be launched by subs. It was created by the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) and can transport warheads weighing up to two tons.

A NOTAM notice was sent out last week, prior to the test. NOTAM, meaning a notice to airmen, is an alert that designates a zone as a no-fly area. The alert was for the Bay of Bengal area, which indicated that India has been planning a missile test, which could occur any time between March 11 and March 16.

The NOTAM notice designates a no-fly zone that extends 3,500 kilometres towards the southern part of the Bay of Bengal. China has been going on monitoring Indian activities, including its missile tests off the country’s eastern seaboard. As a result, the position of the 4,813-ton Xiang Yang Hong 01 research vessel and the coincidental date have prompted some concerns. It was observed how the vessel changed positions over the last week before arriving at its current location. The vessel entered the Malacca Straits on March 6 and was discovered between Great Nicobar Island and the Indian peninsula on March 8.

Based on accounts in Chinese official media, the ship, which entered service in 2016, is approximately 100 meters long and has a range of 15,000 nautical miles. According to reports, it features remote-sensing equipment capable of exploring depths of up to 10,000 meters. It is also believed that the vessel boasts sensors to examine sub-surface acoustic signatures. This also means that it might sense sounds that are associated with those of submarines. The sounds can be detected using the vessel’s sonar and the buoys it deploys.

This may also record acoustic footprints of subs and underwater launches. The information is nothing less than a sheer intelligence goldmine. The Navy informed that the vessel is being thoroughly monitored. According to the report, the yacht is now operating beyond the Bay of Bengal’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The events off the Indian coast came only weeks after another Chinese warship of the same class raised alarms in New Delhi.

The Xiang Yang Hong 03, which docked in the Maldives last month, is currently off the Sri Lankan coast and has been analyzing the region. This came when ties got strained between New Delhi and Male after Mohamed Muizzu, the Maldivian President, asked India’s troops to depart. Ties between the Maldives and India have reached an all-time low since Muizzu took office as President last year.

After a visit to Beijing, where he met China’s President Xi Jinping, Muizzu said that our country may be small, but that does not give them the right to bully us. This remark did not name any nation but was viewed as a swipe toward India. India has played down the strain in its ties. Regarding the relations between India and the Maldives, Dr S Jaishankar, the country’s External Affairs Minister, has said that neighbours need each other.

Both geography and history are powerful forces. And there’s no escape from that. Before China’s vessel arrived in Male the previous month, the Maldives said it wouldn’t do research but would instead come for rotation and replenishment. India’s concerns were not limited to only the territorial waters of the Maldives.

The vessel has been moving in a zigzag pattern in the waters between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Navy Chief Adm. R Kumar said that charting underwater territories might also have military applications, such as the capability to deploy or even operate submarines.

(With Agency Inputs)