Indian Navy Monitoring Activities of China
Amid increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean region, Navy Chief Admiral R.K. Dhowan said that Indian Navy “minutely” monitors the activities of its Chinese counterpart in the region, reports PTI. Underlining that India's maritime resources are directly linked to country's economy, Dhowan said the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships have been deployed in anti-piracy operations in Indian Ocean since 2008 along with some submarines. "PLA Navy's activities are minutely monitored by Indian Navy and our belief is that the responsibility of protecting Indian Ocean and our coastline lies with the Navy. Our ships, aircraft carriers are always on alert so that our security is maintained," he said.
EU NAVFOR, PLA Anti-Piracy Cooperation
On 7/8th November EU NAVFOR was invited to participate in a meeting organized by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) to discuss clarifying areas of responsibility in the gulf of Aden and “to find the best formula of international cooperation” for escorting vessels through the Gulf of Aden. Other representatives were Combined Maritime Forces, NATO, India, Russia and Japan. Currently EU, NATO and CMF all lead specialized anti piracy task forces, covering the security and protection of shipping in the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor (IRTC), while the Chinese, Russian, Indian and Japanese task forces operate independently in convoys. The coordination of these forces is done through the SHADE and this meeting takes place in Bahrain every month.
