In the last four years, China deployed its submarines in the Indian Ocean six times, including a secret mission by a nuclear underwater boat that briefly docked at Karachi, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Friday.
“From 2012 onwards, PLA (Chinese army) Navy was deploying their submarines. The sixth deployment in the Indian Ocean region continues. They also deployed a SSN, which did an operational turnaround in Karachi,” he said.
Admiral Lanba said India had surveillance missions in place using its ships, submarines and aircraft to keep an eye on the Chinese activities in the high seas.On the presence of the Chinese Navy’s ships and submarines at Gwadar port of Balochistan in Pakistan, the navy chief said India was keeping an eye on them.
“We have capability and assets to take on any force which is deployed, and if and when this happens, we have plans in place to tackle it,” he said. Admiral Lanba, however, denied reports of China intruding into the Andaman waters.
‘Bogus claim’
Asked about Pakistan’s claims of pushing an Indian submarine out of Pakistan’s waters, the navy chief said it was a bogus claim.
“There was no Indian submarine deployed in the area where the Pakistani navy is claiming it to be. As far as repelling a submarine of any nation goes, it is not an easy task and the claim made by the Pakistani navy is totally bogus. We deploy submarines where there is an operational necessity and we will continue to deploy them,” Lanba said.
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