The Indian Navy intends to deploy a network of underwater sensors to monitor the movements of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean, news outlet The Free Press Journal reports.
The sensor network will cover critical underwater areas such as the waters off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Bay of Bengal, and the Ninety East Ridge that divides the Indian Ocean into its eastern and western halves.
The hydroacoustic sensors to be deployed by the Indian Navy will be similar to those used by Japan and the United States in the so-called "Fish Hook Undersea Defence Line" in the portion of the Pacific Ocean that lies between Japan and Southeast Asia.
The navy hopes the deployment of the sensors, particularly off Andaman and Nicobar and in the Bay of Bengal, will provide early warning of Chinese submarine activity in the northeastern Indian Ocean.
Indian officials have expressed concern that Beijing may be attempting to map the Ninety East Ridge for future submarine activity after a Chinese research vessel was spotted conducting surveys of the area over a four-week period in March.