{"id":199564,"date":"2022-08-10T18:17:53","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T12:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=199564"},"modified":"2022-08-10T18:17:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T12:47:53","slug":"step-back-from-waters-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/step-back-from-waters-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Step back from water\u2019s edge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>: The post is based on an article \u201cStep back from water\u2019s edge\u201d<\/strong> published in the Indian Express on 10th<\/sup> August 2022.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: <\/strong>GS 3 Internal and External Security<\/p>\n

Relevance: <\/strong>Maritime Security<\/p>\n

News: In recent days, there were reports<\/strong> that a Chinese \u201cspy ship\u201d known as Yuan Wang-5, was going to visit the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota. This happened amidst India\u2019s emergency economic assistance to Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

History of the PLA\u2019s vessel visit to Indian waters<\/strong><\/h5>\n

In 2014, a PLA Navy\u2019s (PLAN) Type-039, a diesel submarine was docked in Colombo, Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

It was followed by a port call by a Type-091 nuclear-powered attack submarine on the Sri Lanka Port.<\/p>\n

Why did Sri Lanka give permission to the Chinese vessel to enter its domestic port?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Sri Lanka has cordial diplomatic relations and economic dependence on China. Therefore, there could be no plausible reason for Sri Lanka to deny entry to Yuan Wang 5, especially into Hambantota<\/strong> on which China has a 99-year lease<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Apart from India and the IMF, Sri Lanka also needs Chinese help for its economic recovery in this crisis time.<\/p>\n

Although the actual mission of Yuan Wang 5<\/strong> is not known, it is also assumed that it was on a legitimate space-related assignment<\/strong>. For example, Further, China is active in space programs. It has planned 50 space launches for 2022, like a return of three Chinese astronauts to earth from an 11-year-old space station,<\/strong> the Tiangong-3 space station<\/strong> is under-construction, etc. For these, space activities, China needs survey\/research ships in dispersed oceanic locations ranging from the mid-Pacific and south Indian Ocean to the coast of Africa, for control and tracking as well as rescue tasks<\/p>\n

International laws for the passage of vessels in the sea waters<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The 1982 UN Convention for Law of the Seas permits unfettered freedom of navigation on the high seas. Therefore, a foreign warship<\/strong> has a right to be in the Indian Ocean,<\/strong> likewise, a similar Indian vessel would be allowed in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n

In the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), there exists the conditional right of \u201cinnocent passage\u201d for all vessels, including warships.<\/p>\n

During peacetime, UNCLOS mandates foreign vessels, especially warships, to have prior consent before entering foreign ports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During wartime, the 1907 Hague Convention<\/strong> permits entry for warships of belligerents into neutral ports for limited durations.<\/p>\n

Indian Issues with the Yuan Wang 5 in the Indian waters<\/strong><\/h5>\n

(1)<\/strong> First, China has overtaken the US Navy and has become a \u201cmaritime Great Power\u201d<\/strong>. It is mandated to safeguard the Maritime Silk Road <\/strong>that spans the Indo-Pacific<\/strong> and includes the China-Pakistan economic corridor.<\/p>\n

(2) In recent years, China has created a string of ports, in India\u2019s neighborhood, meant to contain India.<\/p>\n

(3) The Yuan Wang 5 research\/spy vessel comprises multi-spectral surveillance<\/strong> and eavesdropping device<\/strong>s. The ship has \u201clethal capabilities<\/strong>\u201d and \u201caerial reach of more than 750 km\u201d.<\/strong> Therefore, it could do reconnaissance of India\u2019s atomic research centers within Indian borders.<\/p>\n

(4) The visit of the PLA\u2019s ship to Hambantota could lead to the infringement of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord<\/strong>. The accord calls upon the two countries not to allow their respective territories to be used for \u201cactivities prejudicial to each other\u2019s unity, integrity, and security<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n

What should be done?<\/strong><\/p>\n

(1) However, Colombo has often acknowledged<\/strong> that the security and economic interests of both India and Sri Lanka are inextricably interlinked and any deliberate actions that harm Indian interests will eventually rebound on it.<\/p>\n

(2) Indian armed forces<\/strong> and other agencies<\/strong> are aware of such reconnaissance. They have already taken precautionary policies and procedures relating to electronic emissions<\/strong> and missile-firing trials<\/strong>. Further, the Indian Navy\u2019s maritime domain awareness matrix<\/strong> would follow the position and movements of Yuan Wang 5, if it was in our waters,<\/p>\n

(3) India needs to bolster its economic<\/strong> and maritime power.<\/strong> Further, India can enforce its version of a \u201cMonroe Doctrine<\/strong>,\u201d because there would be the frequent presence of PLAN in the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on an article \u201cStep back from water\u2019s edge\u201d published in the Indian Express on 10th August 2022. Syllabus: GS 3 Internal and External Security Relevance: Maritime Security News: In recent days, there were reports that a Chinese \u201cspy ship\u201d known as Yuan Wang-5, was going to visit the Sri Lankan… Continue reading Step back from water\u2019s edge<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10343,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[216,10500],"class_list":["post-199564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":1700799221,"cached_date":1704710272},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}