Indian Navy watching movement of Chinese nuclear submarines

Mumbai, May 9 (UNI) Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Suresh Mehta today said Chinese nuclear submarines operating out of an underground base in South China sea posed no significant threat to India, but the Indian Navy will be keeping a close watch on their movement.

Talking to newspersons at the Naval Commanders conference here, he said the presence of the Chinese nuclear submarine base had been known to the country for some time.

''Moreover when it is a nuclear submarine, it does not matter if the base is 100 miles away or 200 miles,'' he said. ''Chinese are very keen to come in the Indian Ocean and there is no doubt that they wish to come there. They did not have the assets till now,'' he added.

''Navies work according to national interests. A lot of Chinese oil is transported through the Indian Ocean. Indian maritime trade also takes place through the Indian Ocean for which we keep a watch and its (China's) interests are also the same,'' Admiral Mehta said adding that India believed in the policy of cooperative engagement on the oceans.

UNI VK RN AM HS1847