Indian police abandoned an attempt to recover the remains of the American missionary killed by Andaman Islanders on Sunday after they were faced down by tribesmen armed with bows and arrows.

A marine unit had a long-distance standoff with the natives as their boat neared North Sentinel Island on Saturday, as they tried to find the body of John Allen Chau.

Officers spotted the islanders around 400 metres from the shore and saw the men were armed and seemingly ready to fight.

"They stared at us and we were looking at them," said Director General of Police Dependra Pathak.