Indian sub stalked China warships?
A cat-and-mouse game reminiscent of the tussle between US and Soviet navies during the Cold War is taking place between India and China in full earnest.
By Rajat Pandit, TNN |
NEW DELHI: Jostling for the same strategic space in Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a cat-and-mouse game reminiscent of the tussle between US and Soviet navies during the Cold War is taking place between India and China in full earnest.
Indian submarines, maritime reconnaissance aircraft and warships closely tracked, ������ buzzed��� ��� and photographed two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship making their way to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia recently for anti-piracy patrols.
Chinese media reports, however, now contend that the two Chinese destroyers, Wuhan and Haikou, among the most-powerful in the People���s Liberation Army-Navy fleet, had "forced" an Indian Kilo-class submarine stalking them to "surface" after cornering it following a chase.
The Chinese warships even "launched" a helicopter, armed with torpedoes, against the Indian submarine during the "tense standoff" near Bab el-Mandab Strait, which separates Yemen and Djibouti, on January 15. After surfacing , the submarine left without any further confrontation, said the reports.
Asked about this, the Navy spokesperson only said, "No Indian submarine surfaced in that area. Moreover, nobody can force anybody to surface in international waters."
Sources, however, said the Indian Navy had indeed "spooked" the Chinese warships "several times" during their transit, right from Malacca Strait to the Somali waters. "Every advanced navy does it. Most of the times, it does not become public knowledge," said a source.
The Chinese themselves engage in such activities. In October 2006, for instance, a Chinese Song-class submarine had popped up close to the huge American aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in Pacific Ocean. The encounter had stunned the US military brass since the Chinese submarine had slipped undetected past several American warships with advanced sensors to surface right next to Kitty Hawk.
Moreover, it indicated the rapidly-expanding Chinese submarine fleet���s growing sophistication . This latest incident is not the first time Indian Navy has spooked the Chinese . As earlier reported by TOI, Navy had photographed three new Chinese submarines in the Mediterranean region as well as a new destroyer off Yemen���s Socotra Island in 2006.
"The idea is to record acoustic, propeller and electro-magnetic signatures and data of foreign warships. The data is then processed by intelligence before ending up in a central library, accessed by all our platforms for future use," said a senior officer.
Indian submarines, maritime reconnaissance aircraft and warships closely tracked, ������ buzzed��� ��� and photographed two Chinese destroyers and a supply ship making their way to the Gulf of Aden off Somalia recently for anti-piracy patrols.
Chinese media reports, however, now contend that the two Chinese destroyers, Wuhan and Haikou, among the most-powerful in the People���s Liberation Army-Navy fleet, had "forced" an Indian Kilo-class submarine stalking them to "surface" after cornering it following a chase.
The Chinese warships even "launched" a helicopter, armed with torpedoes, against the Indian submarine during the "tense standoff" near Bab el-Mandab Strait, which separates Yemen and Djibouti, on January 15. After surfacing , the submarine left without any further confrontation, said the reports.
Asked about this, the Navy spokesperson only said, "No Indian submarine surfaced in that area. Moreover, nobody can force anybody to surface in international waters."
Sources, however, said the Indian Navy had indeed "spooked" the Chinese warships "several times" during their transit, right from Malacca Strait to the Somali waters. "Every advanced navy does it. Most of the times, it does not become public knowledge," said a source.
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The Chinese themselves engage in such activities. In October 2006, for instance, a Chinese Song-class submarine had popped up close to the huge American aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in Pacific Ocean. The encounter had stunned the US military brass since the Chinese submarine had slipped undetected past several American warships with advanced sensors to surface right next to Kitty Hawk.
Moreover, it indicated the rapidly-expanding Chinese submarine fleet���s growing sophistication . This latest incident is not the first time Indian Navy has spooked the Chinese . As earlier reported by TOI, Navy had photographed three new Chinese submarines in the Mediterranean region as well as a new destroyer off Yemen���s Socotra Island in 2006.
"The idea is to record acoustic, propeller and electro-magnetic signatures and data of foreign warships. The data is then processed by intelligence before ending up in a central library, accessed by all our platforms for future use," said a senior officer.
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