Chinese boats and maritime militia reportedly tracked the drills carried out by the navies of India and ASEAN countries in the South China Sea, two Indian sources told news agency Reuters on Monday.
The report mentioned that an independent expert in Vietnam said that Beijing appeared to be using the militia to intimidate. They apparently wanted to disrupt the naval exercise, which concluded on Monday.
The naval ships and aircraft from India, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei took part in the two-day sea phase of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME 2023), which started on Sunday.
The Indian sources said that the Chinese militia was in the Vietnamese Exclusive Economic Zone and the naval vessels even crossed each other, but they didn’t engage.
A government official said on the condition of anonymity that several Chinese ships were monitored by India in the region where military drills were being conducted.
The sources added that a Chinese research vessel was also following these boats towards the same area when the Indian authorities were tracking the movements of at least five militia boats.
An expert on the matter, Ray Powell, who leads Project Myoushu on the South China Sea at Stanford University, said the boats belong to the Qiong Sansha Yu militia fleet in the area.
1/Yesterday a flotilla of #China maritime militia ships moving SE executed an unusual 90deg turn, spread out & began moving SW—on a course that would intriguingly lead them directly into the #ASEAN–#India Maritime Exercise group headed NE from Singapore.
But wait… [🧵1/5] pic.twitter.com/Bs3aPxZ6CD
— Ray Powell (@GordianKnotRay) May 8, 2023
Reuters report stated that such militias consist of commercial fishing boats, which work in coordination with the Chinese authorities for political objectives in the South China Sea.
ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise
AIME 2023 involved a total of nine ships and six aircraft, In addition to that, more than 1,800 personnel took part from across the bloc’s member states.
As mentioned by the SCMP report, The Chinese ships were seen about 100 nautical miles away from the area where the exercises were taking place and did not belong to the country’s navy, said the Indian official, who asked not to be identified citing the sensitivity of the issue.
India and Singapore, which co-hosted the final day of the weeklong exercise, but didn’t respond to the reports of Chinese spooning. And China’s Ministry of Defence also didn’t immediately respond.
the Republic of Singapore Navy wrote in a Facebook post on Monday that “AIME was successfully and safely completed with the conclusion of the sea phase in international waters earlier this morning”.
The navy added, “RSS Supreme will continue in transit to the Philippines and prepare for the upcoming Asean Multilateral Naval Exercise.”
Indian Navy said that INS Delhi and INS Satpura have successfully participated in various activities during the harbour phase of the AIME 2023.
The navy tweeted: “INS Delhi & INS Satpura successfully participated in various activities during the harbour phase of the ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise 2023. The ASEAN & Indian Navy ships subsequently commenced the Sea Phase in the South China Sea which terminates today 8th May.”
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
