At a time when Indian troops were engaged in a tense border standoff with Chinese PLA along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Navy tracked a Chinese research ship in the Indian Ocean. The Yuan Wang class research vessel had entered the Indian Ocean region from Malacca strait in August, news agency ANI reported quoting government sources.

The ship returned to China few days ago, the report said. “The Chinese research vessel returned to China a few days ago after being under constant watch of the Indian Navy vessels,” sources told ANI.

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A similar incident was reported in December last year when a Chinese vessel was asked to move out of Indian waters near Andaman and Nicobar Islands after it was found to be indulging in suspicious activities.

The report has come at a time when troops of both the countries are involved in an intense faceoff after the Chinese PLA attemped to change the status quo at the LAC in Ladakh. Several rounds of military and diplomatic talks have been held between the two neighbouring nations to work out a plan for disengagement.

Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Moscow. During the meeting, both the sides agreed on a five-point plan to reduce tension in eastern Ladakh.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who also met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow on September 4, has told the Parliament that efforts are on to diffuse the situation.

“No force in the world can stop Indian soldiers from patrolling. Our soldiers have sacrificed their lives only for this,” Rajnath Singh said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.