india

Updated: Oct 16, 2018 08:59 IST

The Indian Navy has spotted a Chinese attack submarine in the Indian Ocean, the first such sighting since last year’s Doklam border standoff, said an official familiar with the development. The Chinese navy has deployed a submarine, a Type O39A Yuan class boat, in the ocean for the first time in over a year.

China claims that such deployments are in support of its anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The submarine is accompanied by a rescue vessel.

In an interview to HT in May, Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) is here to stay in the Indian Ocean and its military movement had fuelled concerns about China’s intent in the region.

The navy keeps a sharp eye on the pattern and periodicity of extra-regional deployments in the Indian Ocean Region. A fleet of 50 combat-ready Indian warships is carrying out round-the-clock surveillance of the waters. At any given time, China has six to seven warships deployed in the region. The PLAN is known to send two conventional submarines to the area every year, Lanba had said.

Navy officials have maintained that anti-piracy patrols and freedom of navigation are the reasons cited by China for its rising presence in the region