Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean in February, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency.
Shanghai: Eleven Chinese warships sailed into the East Indian Ocean in February, a Chinese news portal said, amid a constitutional crisis in the tiny tropical island chain of the Maldives now under a state of emergency.
A fleet of destroyers and at least one frigate, a 30,000-tone amphibious transport dock and three support tankers entered the Indian Ocean, news portal sina.com.cn said, without linking the deployment to the crisis in the Maldives or giving a reason.
“If you look at warships and other equipment, the gap between the Indian and Chinese navy is not large,” the website said on Sunday.
It did not say when the fleet was deployed or for how long.
Rivalry between old foes India and China for influence in the Maldives became evident after President Abdulla Yameen signed up to Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative to build trade and transport links across Asia and beyond.
India, which has had longstanding political and security ties to the islands about 400 kilometers away, has sought to push back against China’s expanding presence in the overwhelmingly Muslim country of 400,000 people.
