Search for MH370: India refuses China entry into Andamans

New Delhi, March 21: The search for the missing Malaysian flight became a contentious issue between India and

after the former refused to allow Chinese warships to approach the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

According to a report, the Indian authorities gently turned down China's request to allow four warships, including two frigates and a salvage vessel, to enter the Indian waters for India's own warships are already searching the missing flight in the Bay and Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Indian officials turned down China's request to enter the strategic region

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically located and constitute India's military outpost which looks after the significant Malacca Strait. India and China have a serious geo-strategic competition in the Indian Ocean region and any move by Beijing to enter military equipment in the area is seen by New Delhi with suspicion. The two countries share a bitter relation over the territorial question along their border in the Himalayan region.

Indian officials have said that they don't want Chinese warships approach the Indian territory in the name of searching a missing plane.

India was supposed to send two highly equipped aircraft to Malaysia to join the massive search operation.

On Thursday, reports came that a couple of objects have been spotted by a satellite off the Perth coast in Australia, a harsh region, which could be the remains of the missing flight. However, the reports were yet to be confirmed.

On March 9, China stopped two Philippine vessels from sending personnel and supplies to the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea during the search of the MH370.

OneIndia News