Keeping strong vigil on movements of Chinese vessels in Indian Ocean: Navy chief Admiral Hari Kumar

NEW DELHI: Expressing hope that the Indian Navy will become 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) by 2047, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday that they have been keeping a strong vigil on the movements of Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean region. Towards this, Admiral Kumar added, the case for the proposed procurement of a fleet of Predator drones from the United States is also under process.

Addressing an annual presser ahead of Navy Day, he also said that for the first time, navy was inducting women sailors.

Admiral Kumar said there are about "four-six PLA Navy ships and some research vessels in the Indian Ocean region". "A large number of Chinese fishing vessels also operate in the Indian Ocean region. We keep a close watch on all developments," the navy chief said, noting that 60-odd extra-regional forces are always present in the vital region "where a large amount of trade and energy flow happens". "Our job is to see that India's interests in the maritime domain are protected," he added.

It is to be noted that last month a Chinese ship, Yuan Wang 6, was spotted in the Indian Ocean region when India was all set to conduct ballistic missile tests from geostrategic Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal. The Yuan Wang-class of ships are used to track satellites and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. The docking of a similar Chinese spy ship at Hambantota in August had led to a major diplomatic wrangle between India and Sri Lanka.


To crank up India's surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region, Admiral Kumar said there was a proposal to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones at a cost of over $3 billion .

"The case for the procurement is under process. We are discussing whether the numbers have to be rationalised," the navy chief said while replying to a question at his annual press conference.

Not just the Indian Navy, but the all three defence services are likely to get 10 drones each. The drone is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance. The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul last month.

Admiral Kumar added there has been greater emphasis on the criticality of maritime security with the Indian Navy achieving a very high operational tempo in the last one year.

Citing recent global events like the Russia-Ukraine war, he said India cannot stay dependent on the world for its defence requirements.

"The government has given us clear guidelines on Atmanirbhar Bharat. We have assured the government that the Indian Navy will become Atmanirbhar by 2047. We aim to have Made-in-India security solutions for the country," Admiral Kumar said, adding commissioning of aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was a landmark event for India.

He then went on to talk about the Agniveer scheme, saying around 3,000 Agniveers have arrived in the Navy out of which 341 are women. "For the first time, we are inducting women sailors. They'll be deployed on ships, airbases and aircraft. There is going to be no difference in training. We're looking at being a gender-neutral force, where we only look at capability of the individual," Admiral Kumar further said.

(With inputs from agencies)