How are Chinese ships obstructing India's possible missile test?
India was scheduled to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile from an island off the coast of Orissa last week, but apparently the presence of a Chinese ship in the Indian Ocean had to delay the test. India has again issued a no-fly zone notification for the experiment, but there are reports that another Chinese ship has entered the Indian Ocean region in the meantime.
India has issued a new no-fly zone notice for November 23, 24 for missile tests, which extends from the Bay of Bengal to the region close to Sri Lanka. A no-fly notice is usually issued in advance of any such experiment and is called a 'notium' meaning 'notice to airmen'.
Leading defense intelligence expert Damien Simon wrote in a tweet on November 12 that 'India has re-notified the no-fly zone in the Bay of Bengal. This is an indication of missile tests to be conducted in the coming days.
This notice has been issued at a time when two Chinese research ships are in the Indian Ocean region collecting details of missile tests and satellites launch.
Importantly, India last week also issued a no-fly zone notice for November 10 and 11. Experts believe that the notice was for the missile test, but the test had to be postponed due to the arrival of the Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang-6 in the Indian Ocean at that time.
Last Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arndam Bagchi did not directly answer a question about the delay in the missile test but said, "Our agencies know where the Chinese ship is." I would just like to say that whatever steps our security agencies have to take, we always do. Our respective institutions are always vigilant and alert and take necessary action. It will not be appropriate to say anything more in security matters.
The notification issued by India covers a distance of 2250 km from the missile test center located in the sea of Orissa in the Bay of Bengal down to the sea of Sri Lanka.
"Missile tests are very secretive and governments don't say much about it," says Rahul Bedi, a leading defense expert. But the range of the no-fly zone that India has issued is about 2250 km, it suggests that the test could be of an Agni-based intercontinental ballistic missile as this missile fits within that range.
The website 'Marine Traffic', which monitors the traffic of all kinds of ships in the sea around the world, reported on November 4 that the Chinese ship Yuan Wang-6 was heading towards the Indian Ocean from the Indonesian island of Bali. was
According to information provided by the website as of Monday, along with the Wang-6, the Yuan Wang-5 is also now located somewhere in the Indian Ocean region. Yuan Wang-5 was anchored at the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota for a few days last August.
A lot of concern was expressed about this in India at the time. Even then, it was suspected that this research vessel had come there to spy on India's satellite launch etc. China had denied this and termed it as a port call of Mawal.
Rahul Bedi says, “Yuan Wang-6 is equipped with advanced types of sensors, radars and instruments. It is capable of receiving long-range ballistic missile test and satellite launch details. These research vessels are considered to be large vessels and around 450 experts of the Chinese Navy are on board. China has six such ships.
The nature of these ships is research type and technically they do not fall under the category of military ships, so they have the right to enter the international sea as well as the exclusive economic zone of the countries.
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India's exclusive economic zone extends to 200 nautical miles in the sea. It is not yet clear whether Chinese warships will enter India's territorial waters or not. Indian law prohibits any foreign ship from conducting research, survey or expedition without prior permission and if any ship enters Indian territory, the Indian Navy will try to intercept it.
In an article published in China's official newspaper Global Times on November 7, Qiang Feng, head of the National Strategy Institute at Shenghua University, wrote that "This is a reflection of India's low confidence in relations with China." It is quite clear that the Yuan Wang is not a warship and if it is passing through Indian territory without causing any danger, it is completely normal and completely justified.
Now that India has announced the date of November 23-24 for the missile test, it is not clear how long the two Chinese ships will remain in the Indian Ocean.
Rahul Bedi says that there are reports that these ships have come to the region to track China's space rockets, which are scheduled to be launched in the next few days.
Rahul says that China does not need to send these ships here to monitor India's missiles. It has powerful satellites in space that can easily track India's missile tests and satellite launches. But if these ships remain anchored somewhere around the Indian region till the next date of the missile test, it may create a new problem for India. It was because of their presence that the missile test had to be postponed last week.
