India Plans To Stop Chinese Spy Ship, Yuan Wang-6 From Entering India's EEZ

The Indian Navy will not allow the Yuan Wang-6 into the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which stretches up to 200 nautical miles out into the sea.

Despite the fact that the Yuan Wang-6 is a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) spy ship dispatched to the Indian Ocean Region to track India's missile tests from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha, she is officially registered as a research and survey vessel.

While foreign vessels, including warships, are free to sail through the EEZ, Indian law prohibits foreign nations from conducting surveys, research, or exploration there without permission.

After being discovered lurking near Port Blair in 2019, the Indian Navy forced the Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 1 out of India's EEZ.

The Shi Yan 1 is also thought to be a PLAN spy ship disguised as a research vessel. The Indian Navy's action sparked a diplomatic spat with China, but India stood firm.

According to sources, if the Yuan Wang-6 tries to enter India's EEZ again, the Indian Navy will do the same. According to a senior official, the vessel's destination is not marked to any port but to “open sea,” and she will have to remain there.

“We are constantly monitoring her every movement. Our surface and sub-surface assets are tracking the Yuan Wang-6, as are our Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and long-range maritime surveillance aircraft. Though we can't do anything until she is in the open seas, action can be taken once she attempts to enter our EEZ. Had she been a normal PLAN warship, we could have done nothing due to the international treaty,” the official said.

According to the official, a foreign survey and research vessel, on the other hand, is not permitted to operate in our EEZ. She won't be able to approach our coastline. We know Yuan Wang-6 has powerful tracking equipment that can track her from hundreds of nautical miles away, but there is nothing anyone can do while she is in international waters.

The territorial waters of India extend 12 nautical miles from the closest low tide mark on shore.

Without the permission of the government of India, no foreign warship or submarine may enter this zone. Even if permission is granted, foreign submarines must navigate these waters on the surface while flying their national flags.

The same is true for warships. Other foreign vessels are not subject to any restrictions. Because the Yuan Wang-6 is not registered as a naval vessel, she may attempt to enter India's Territorial Waters if she is not prevented from entering the EEZ.

The only issue is if the Chinese vessel receives permission from any of our maritime neighbours to enter their territorial waters. We share our maritime boundary with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Because the sea is contiguous, officials added that we can't enforce our EEZ laws near these countries, which is why we have International Maritime Boundary Lines to demarcate territory. 

Sri Lanka is deeply in debt, forcing it to lease the Hambantota Port to China. Despite India's reservations, another Chinese spy ship, the Yuan Wang-5, docked at Hambantota in August of this year.

However, because much of Hambantota Port is in Chinese hands, Sri Lankan authorities had little choice but to postpone the ship's arrival.