Chinese 'militia' vessels sail close to Indian warships
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, May 8
Tension build up in South China Sea today as Chinese maritime “militia” ships sailed in close proximity to a flotilla of warships of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
and India conducting a joint exercise.
“Militia” vessels are registered as mercantile ships, but are marshalled at sea at the behest of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China.
‘Safe’ distance
- At one point, gap between Chinese militia ships & ASEAN-India flotilla was less than 50 km
- It could have been a threat if the Chinese ships had come within 5-8 km, a source said
Defence sources confirmed that Chinese activity was being watched and said the five “militia” vessels could be there to keep an eye on the exercise. “Their course at sea is being watched,” a source said.
There are multiple measures to avoid a confrontation at sea. At one point, the distance between the Chinese militia and ASEAN-India flotilla was less than 50 km. “It could have been a potential threat if the Chinese ships had come within the range of 5-8 km,” the source said, adding a Chinese research vessel was also following these ships.
Ships from the navies of India and ASEAN — the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam — are conducting the inaugural ASEAN-India Maritime Exercises (AIME). “The sea phase of the exercise is in international waters along the transit route to the Philippines (SCS),” the Ministry of Defence of Singapore had said at the start of the sea phase drill.
The exercise is aimed at practising the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), a confidence-building measure to promote trust and reduce the likelihood of accidents or miscalculations in the maritime domain. The CUES is important as China disputes the maritime territorial limit of South China Sea.
