Amid Sikkim stand-off, China naval vessels 'unusually' active in Indian Ocean

An increased frequency of China's vessels being docked in Karachi and "unusual" activities of its naval units in the Indian Ocean have raised an alarm, amid a month-long military stand-off between Chinese and Indian troops on the Sikkim-Bhutan border. The development comes when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hamburg in Germany.

India has already been critical of China's mega infrastructural project 'One Belt One Road' as one of its components called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In the last two months, the Indian Navy's satellites, maritime surveillance aircraft and ships have been keeping an eye on around 12 Chinese naval units operating in the Indian Ocean Region. These include Luyang Class III destroyers. The Indian Navy has intensified its vigil using air and surface assets.

Chongmingdao, the Chinese Navy's submarine support vessel assisting their seventh submarine in the Indian Ocean, is being watched by Indian Navy.

The ship and the submarine were in Karachi at the end of May for replacement, sources said.

Sources added that the 10-day Malabar exercise starting July 10, involving India, the US and Japan in the Bay of Bengal, is going to be crucial to control China's naval dominance in the region.

Navy intelligence reports indicate that on the pretext of anti-piracy operations, the Chinese Navy has enhanced its presence in the IOR.

"Anti-piracy operations do not need submarines. Reports indicate they are docked in Karachi and have of late been enhancing their strength in the Indian Ocean," said navy sources.

"In a gap of two to three months, a Chinese submarine is sent. There is an alternative trend of sending a conventional submarine once a nuclear one has been noticed," said naval sources.

Sources said the Chinese navy sent ships in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations in 2012 for four years after the Indian Navy, but in the last few years they have made attempts to dominate the IOR.

"We have our assets in place accounting for what they are doing," said naval sources.

The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a month-long standoff after the Indian Army stopped road construction by the Chinese in Bhutan. The People's Liberation Army destroyed two Indian bunkers at Lalten in Doka La falling at a tri-junction of India, Bhutan and Tibet. China and Bhutan have an ongoing territorial dispute in the region.

Beijing continued to blame India for the standoff alleging that the Sino-India border in the Sikkim sector is well demarcated and the Indian Army's action there is a "betrayal" of the position taken by successive Indian governments.