A Chinese “research vessel” Yuan Wang 5, which three years ago caused consternation among Indian naval officers and the national security bureaucracy after entering the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka, was this evening reported to be moving to the same zone, Indian and Bangladeshi naval sources confirmed.
The Yuan Wang 5, essentially an intelligence gathering ship that is euphemistically referred to as a “research vessel” was said to be at 11.0288° S and 100.9873° E at 02:38 UTC or around 8:10 pm IST as located through Automatic Identification System, which is a VHF-based transponder system that transmits and receives a ship’s identity, position, course, and speed to and from other vessels and shore authorities.
While Bangladeshi naval officers, who began tracking the ship’s movements after it left Indonesia at least 36 hours ago, “expected” Yuan Wang 5 to move closer to the Bay of Bengal, Indian authorities were tightlipped about this.
This will be the second time in three years that Yuan Wang 5 would be in Indian territorial waters. The last time it manoeuvered into the Indian Ocean was when it docked at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port on August 16, 2022. At that time, permission was granted by Sri Lankan authorities to the ship’s captain on the condition that it would undertake any research while in Sri Lankan wates.
The Yuan Wang 5 is one of China’s latest generation space-tracking ships, used to monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
Once Yuan Wag 5 docked at Hambantota, Chinese officials had said that ship was engaged in “marine scientific research” activities that were “consistent with international law” and did not impact “any other country’s security interests”. Wang Wenbin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson at that time had said that Yuan Wang 5’s movements “should not be obstructed by any third party”.
The entry of the Yuan Wang 5’s into the Indian Ocean is significant considering that an United States Air Force (USAF) team comprising about 120 officers were in Bangladesh’s Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar for a joint exercise – Pacific Angel-2025 – with Bangladesh Army and Air Force personnel, which ended on September 19. The US military personnel left Bangladesh today.
