For the first time, there is evidence of how much effort the Indian agencies have put in to monitor the neighbour's growing military prowess.
NEW DELHI: China's growing naval ambitions have for long been worrying India. But for the first time, there is evidence of how much effort the Indian agencies have put in to monitor the neighbour's growing military prowess. The evidence available with DNA is also a rare peak into India's growing snooping abilities beyond its immediate borders.
Sources say that Indian surveillance capabilities have been pressed into full steam to monitor the latest acquisition of Chinese military: two Russian submarines acquired in October. DNA is in possession of a photograph, taken from a Tupalov-142 long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft that was pressed into service to monitor the two Chinese submarines while they were somewhere near the Cape of Good Hope.
The new Kilo class submarines are on their way to China.
The entire surveillance exercise started sometime in last week of October when Peoples Liberation Army Navy took possession of the two submarines that were part of an order placed with Russia in 1996 for four of them. Two were taken possession of by 1998. The submarines, mounted on a massive Merchant Vessel Tai an Kou, left St Petersburg, passed to Atlantic Ocean and reached the Cape of Good Hope, when the Indian surveillance capabilities picked it up.
Ever since the merchant vessel has been under surveillance, believed to be primarily by Navy's Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft based in Chennai. The Russian planes are capable of flying non-stop for some 16 hours, and have highly advanced abilities to pick up low-noise nuclear submarines and also take extremely powerful images like the one with DNA.
The Navy rarely speaks about the exact role of the aircraft and seldom has the public been told about its abilities and the role it plays. The Chinese submarines rounded the Cape of Good Hope sometime around November 20 and are now believed to be somewhere in the Indian Ocean.
Though India has been concerned about China's growing naval capabilities, there is very little that it can do to stop the massive military sales between China and Russia. In fact China and India are Russia's biggest military buyers.
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