Thread by @hukum2082

On Navy Day , I look into the reported violation of Indian EEZ in the Andaman Sea by a Chinese Survey Vessel Shiyan 1 in August-September 2019.

Shiyan 1 was reportedly engaged in 'research activities' around 200 Nautical Miles off Port Blair was first sighted by a @indiannavy Doriner-228 Maritime Patrol Aircraft.A warship was duly dispatched which ordered the vessel to leave

The Shiyan 1 is a Research Vessel is jointly built by the Institute of Acoustics-(IOA), the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology-(SCSIO) and Shenyang Institute of Automation-(SIA) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

It is the first vessel in service that could be considered as the large-scale CCS classification SWATH (Small Water-plane Area Twin Hull) catamaran type with AC variable frequency electric propulsion system.

The Ship has many advanced features which can support scientific investigation of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary among acoustics, physical oceanography, marine geology in coastal waters, open sea and ocean.

The Ship has a length of 60m, width 26m, tonnage 2,560 tons, and a total weight of 3,071 tons. Designed with a full steel structure , it is able to travel 8,000 nautical miles in a run, at a top speed up to 15 knots, with an endurance that can last for 40 days

Incidentally this is not the first time that the Shiyan 1 was reported to be in and around Indian Territorial Waters. As a brand new ship , It had docked at Colombo in May 2010.

Immediately before the incident off Port Blair , Shiyan 1 had docked about 400 Nautical Miles away at Phuket on 20th Aug 2019 . This was a pre-planned deployment as the approach towards Andaman from Phuket along the Thai Coast would have not raised immediate suspicion

The Ship is likely to intially moved towards Myanmarese Territorial Waters and entered Indian EEZ from the North along the Coco Islands.

The Andaman Islands are central to Indian's Maritime Security. In case of an Sino-India conflict , the @indiannavy can potentially block all shipping emerging out of the Mallaca Straits .That could have a devastating impact on Chinese Sea Borne trade

The Shiyan 1 is equipped with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) which direct sound waves into the water column; returning echoes provide information on the direction and speed of undersea currents.

Multi-beam echo sounders use pulses of sound to obtain precise measurements of ocean depth and contours.Very important data to prepare navigation charts which may help Chinese Submarines to lurk undetected around the Andaman Islands.

Deployment of underwater gliders such as the Sea Wing. Because of their endurance and economy, gliders make excellent platforms for measuring basic characteristics of the undersea environment, such as temperature and salinity.Helpful in refining the performance of SONARS

Factors such as ocean temperature, density, and salinity directly affect all manner of naval operations, from basic
navigation to amphibious landings.

In the words of one PLAN analyst, “the side with fuller, more accurate, and timelier mastery of the ocean battle-space environment will have the initiative on the battlefield.”

Web References :-

lssf.cas.cn
globalsecurity.org
vesselfinder.com

China’s Distant-Ocean Survey Activities:
Implications for U.S. National Security
Ryan D. Martinson and Peter A. Dutton1

Kindly ignore the grammar as the entire thing was typed on phone.