China's maritime presence in the Indian Ocean has grown significantly during the period of the exercises.

New Delhi: As Beijing and Islamabad begin their largest-ever naval exercises, NDTV was able to access high-resolution satellite images that show several Chinese front-line warships, a submarine, and fleet support ships docked at Karachi harbor.

China's maritime presence in the Indian Ocean has grown significantly during the period of the Sea Guardian-3 exercises. This includes building a sizable base in the Horn of Africa—Djibouti—and selling a number of cutting-edge platforms to regional navies, most notably the Pakistan Navy, which purchased four Type-054 A/P frigates recently.



Over the past year, several Chinese oceanographic survey and surveillance ships have also been spotted in the Indian Ocean. The Shi Yan 6, a Chinese ocean research vessel, sailed northward into Bay Bengal earlier this month, between the coast of Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, before docking in Colombo. Many people think that China has been actively mapping the Indian Ocean's waters, especially the Bay of Bengal, in order to facilitate widespread submarine operations throughout the area.

One of China's diesel-electric submarines, the Type 039, is berthed in Karachi. Beijing's confidence in its ability to deploy naval assets thousands of kilometers away from their homeports is demonstrated by the boat's presence in the Arabian Sea, even though the specific capabilities of the vessel—including its quietness—remain closely guarded military secrets.

Since 2013, the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is thought to have deployed a submarine in the Indian Ocean eight times.

It is also known that China has fast attack submarines in the Indian Ocean that are propelled by nuclear power. These don't need to come to the surface other than to restock supplies, so they could theoretically stay underwater forever. It's unclear if the Chinese fleet participating in these drills also has a nuclear submarine deployed.


Navy P8 reconnaissance aircraft routinely tracked the Type-039 submarine and its accompanying support ship after they entered the area through the Malacca straits, according to sources keeping an eye on the deployment of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean for the Sea Guardian exercises.

  According to sources, this is a prelude to a potential increase in Chinese influence in the area down the road. "It's not a question of if but when China decides to deploy a carrier battle group in the Indian Ocean region," they claim. Its current port infrastructure, which includes its first overseas base in Djibouti, makes it easy to berth an aircraft carrier and its battle group.


In an alleged $5 billion deal, the Pakistani government decided to buy eight Type 039 submarine variants in April 2015. It was anticipated that the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works would build four of the submarines. So far, not a single submarine has been delivered.