Chinese vessel moors near Male as Indian, SL ships in Maldives for drill

Male, February 22

On a day when military ships from India and Sri Lanka reached the Maldives coast to participate in a trilateral naval exercise, a Chinese research vessel moored close to the Male port, according to media reports on Thursday.

“Chinese research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03 was moored close to Male City this morning. Around noon, the ship was shown to be near Thilafushi,” a news portal reported, quoting the Marine Traffic website that tracks all ocean liners across the globe.

On January 23, the Maldives Government permitted the research vessel, equipped to carry research and surveys, to dock at Male port, saying the halt was for replenishment and that the research vessel would “not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters”. India has expressed concern over the movement of the Xiang Yang Hong 03 vessel in Indian Ocean waters and also prevailed on Sri Lanka to refuse permission for the ship to dock at Colombo port. Mohamed Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, won last year’s presidential election on an “anti-India” stance.