Reuters has reported that a Chinese research vessel is on its way to the Maldives.
The report from Reuters cited an Indian military official as well as an independent researcher.
Reuters said that this would raise concern in New Delhi, which has previously viewed the presence of such vessels close to its shores, including in Sri Lanka in 2022, as problematic.
These vessels are not military ships, officially, but India and others worry about the military use of their research.
The Chinese vessel is en route to Male, open source intelligence researcher Damien Symon wrote on social media platform X, saying Xiang Yang Hong 03 “is entering the Indian Ocean Region, displaying its destination as Male, the vessel is expected to run an ocean survey operation in the Indian Ocean Region.
However, the government of Maldives has yet to confirm the arrival of the vessel in its waters.
Last month, the government said that it would not renew the agreement made with India on the Hydrography Survey in the Maldives.
The government said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and his cabinet have decided not to renew the Hydrography agreement between the two countries and that as per agreement dictates one party can decide not to renew the current agreement six months before it expires in June 2024.
It also said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and his cabinet want to retain information and data about the country's waters within the country itself.
