YUAN WANG 5

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Chinese spy ship left Indian Ocean region

The 'Yuan Wang 5' which entered the Indian Ocean Region last week, has moved out of the area again on Dec 10, 2022, being constantly monitored by Indian Navy assets, including long range surveillance drones and maritime patrol aircraft. The spy ship, known to be fitted with several tracking and surveillance devices, entered the Indian Ocean Region, ahead of a plan by India for a likely test firing a long-range ballistic missile in the Bay of Bengal. The moving back of the vessel came a day after reports of a clash between Indian and Chinese army troops in Arunachal's Tawang region on Dec 9 came to light. Soldiers of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, and the skirmish resulted in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides.

Row between Inddia and China for call of Chinese research ship at Hambantota

India and China traded insults over their diverging interests in Sri Lanka, after the controversial 'Yuan Wang 5' called at Hambantota despite New Delhi’s security concerns. Sri Lanka “needs support, not unwanted pressure or unnecessary controversies to serve another country’s agenda,” the Indian embassy in Colombo said on Twitter late on Aug 27, 2022, referencing the ongoing political and economic turmoil the nation is already battling after defaulting on its debt for the first time. On Aug 26 the Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka tweeted that the South Asian country had every right to approve a foreign vessel docking at its port. “External obstruction based on so-called ‘security concerns’ but without any evidence from certain forces is de facto a thorough interference into Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence,” the Chinese mission wrote. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said last month that the ship’s movements could have a bearing on its security and economic interests. The Hambantota port that the vessel stopped at has been plagued by controversy, with the Sri Lankan government having to borrow heavily to construct it. When Sri Lanka couldn’t repay the loans, it granted China a 99-year lease on the facility for debt relief.

Concerns about Chinese ship in Sri Lanka

The 'Yuan Wang 5' was pulled into a dock at the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota in the morning of Aug 16, 2022, being greeted by a group of Chinese residents holding a large banner that hailed the friendship between Beijing and Colombo. Sri Lankan lawmakers also were in attendance as the captain and other crew members were welcomed with a traditional dance after disembarking from the vessel. The ship’s arrival, reportedly for refueling and resupply , was not warmly received everywhere, however. The Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe insisted that China would not be allowed to use the port for military purposes. However, he did not deny the possibility that Chinese military vessels might enter the port to refuel. Sri Lanka has downplayed mounting U.S. and Indian concerns about China’s activities. Sri Lanka, however, does not want to harm its relationship with China, which is Colombo’s largest creditor nation.