DNA EXCLUSIVE: Chinese ship spied off Andaman

The expansionist regime of China last year deployed a hi-tech surveillance vessel in Indian waters off Andaman and Nicobar islands for two weeks, according to a report by central intelligence agencies.

The discovery is alarming considering that the archipelago is an exclusive economic zone and is used as a conduit by thousands of commercial ships. Andaman and Nicobar is also the first and only tri-service theatre command – a unified force of the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

According to the report, accessed by DNA, Beijing used its Dong-Diao class ship Tianwangxing for spying. The movement of the ship was close to the Eastern Sea border and off Andaman and Nicobar islands.

"The People's Liberation Army Navy [PLAN] has been regularly deploying intelligence-gathering ships in the Indian Ocean Region which is a matter of concern for us. We noticed that a surveillance ship infiltrated the Indian Ocean region in December last year and stayed there for about two weeks,'' said an official of the Indian security establishment.

Investigative agencies are working hard to find out the information that could have been gathered by the Chinese spy ship during its stay in the Indian waters. ''We are also ascertaining the details of the intelligence-gathering equipment fitted onboard the PLAN ship,'' said another top military official.

Tianwangxing of Type 815G class is a modern surveillance vessel and is capable of carrying out all-weather, round-the-clock reconnaissance on multiple targets. It is fitted with highly advanced systems that only a few countries like the US have developed.

Officials said China, which is trying to strengthen its control in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean Region, has been monitoring the activities of the Indian Navy. For this, Beijing is working closely with the Pakistan navy by helping Islamabad modernise the Gwadar and Karachi naval bases.

China and Pakistan appear to have come closer than before after India removed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, leaving Islamabad flummoxed. While China went against India when Pakistan tried to rake up the issue in the UNSC, it was snubbed by the other members of the security council.