Chinese vessel operating without permission, told to leave: Navy chief

New Delhi: Indian Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh on Tuesday said the Indian Navy drove away a Chinese vessel Shi Yan 1 as it was operating in the Indian waters without permission.

"Our stand is that if you have to work in our Exclusive Economic Zone, then you have to take our permission," he said while reacting to a question on why Chinese vessel Shi Yan 1 was asked to leave Indian waters.

The Indian Navy recently drove away a suspicious Chinese vessel operating in the Indian waters near Port Blair.

The Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 1 was carrying out research activities in the Indian waters near Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and was detected by maritime surveillance aircraft operating there, government sources had said.

Sources said the vessel could have also been used by the Chinese to spy on the Indian activities in the Island territory from where India can keep a close eye on the maritime movements in the IOR and South-East Asian region.

After the vessel was detected by the agencies and found out that it was carrying out research activities in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, an Indian Navy warship was sent there to monitor it.

Since laws do not allow foreign countries to carry out any research or exploration activities in the Indian EEZ, the Indian Navy warship asked the Chinese research vessel to move out of Indian waters.

The Chinese Shi Yan 1 vessel left Indian waters and moved to its other destination probably towards China, sources said.