Yuan Wang 5
#GS-02 International Relations
For Prelims
Yuan Wang 5:
- Yuan Wang 5 is a third-generation vessel of the Yuan Wang series that entered service in 2007.
- This series of ships were aimed at creating “space tracking ships involved in supporting the manned space programme“.
- It has the ability to track satellites and intercontinental missiles.
- In August 2020, the docking of Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota in Sri Lanka had created a major diplomatic situation between India and Sri Lanka.
For Mains
Chinese Presence in Indian Ocean:
- It has been reported that, the Chinese presence in IOR includes four to six Navy ships, research vessels and fishing vessels apart from 60–odd ships of extra-regional forces.
- The Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean began in 2008 under the garb of anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
- They have since maintained continuous presence in the region, even deploying nuclear attack submarines (SSN) on occasions.
- China had since set up a military base in Djibouti and developed several dual-use ports in the IOR in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Pakistan and other countries.
India’s Concerns:
- There had been a steady rise in the deployment of Chinese research vessels in the IOR.
- The research or survey vessels have powerful equipment for snooping and gathering a range of data.
- In a similar incident in November, another research vessel, Yuan Wang 6, entered the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) coinciding with a planned Indian missile launch.
- The movement of Yuan Wang-6 came barely 20 days after India conducted the test firing of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from INS Arihant.
- In 2019, Indian Navy warships had chased away a suspected Chinese spy vessel, Shi Yan 1, purportedly doing research activity close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
