6 MORE CHINESE WARSHIPS SHOW UP IN INDIAN OCEAN AS BEIJING EXPANDS PRESENCE

Chinese Spy Ship HAI YANG 24 HAO in the Indian Ocean Region

With three warships of the 44th anti-piracy mission in the Persian Gulf-Oman area, the Chinese have pushed in the 45th anti-piracy mission. Besides the warships, Chinese ships crisscross the Indian Ocean

New Delhi: It’s the Indian Ocean all right, but there are more major Chinese warships in the area than Indian.

The Peoples Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) has not just the usual three warships, officially as part of the anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean, but an unprecedented six, along with a Song-class submarine entering Karachi port, in Pakistan, and also a submarine-tender.

With three warships of the 44th anti-piracy mission in the Persian Gulf-Oman area, the Chinese have pushed in the 45th anti-piracy mission, also comprising three warships, currently in the Red Sea-Aden area, plus a submarine tender, Chang Dao. There is also a “spy” ship Xian-6 in the Indian Ocean.

Besides the warships, Chinese ships crisscross the Indian Ocean. Including tankers and freight carriers, there are, at any given time, about a hundred ships in the area. If Hong Kong-registered ships are considered, the number is even more.

The Song-class submarine’s presence in Karachi is another example of the close ties between China and Pakistan. In the past, Chinese conventional submarines like the Song-class one, would dock in Sri Lankan ports, but after protests by India, Colombo has stopped hosting them.