Will Indian Navy stop alleged Chinese spy ship?

Multiple Indian media outlets have reported that the Indian Navy is planning to prevent the Chinese vessel Yuan Wang-6 from entering India's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) 200 nautical miles from India's coastline.

Indian authorities believe that the Yuan Wang-6, which is officially registered as a research and survey vessel, is a spy ship China's navy, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), whose mission may be to report on missile tests at India's missile research centre at the APJ Abdul Kalam Island on the coast of the state of Odisha, Indian media reported.

In 2019, a similar vessel, the Shi Yan 1, was escorted out of the Indian EEZ from near Indian territory near the Andaman Islands, causing a diplomatic spat between India and China, Indian media reported.

It was not immediately clear if the Yuan Wang-6 would visit any ports of India's neighbours including Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, or travel through the EEZ's of these countries, Indian media reported.

Vessels from any country are usually allowed to travel through another country's EEZ. But India does not allow spy ships, which are often registered under the guise of surveys, research or exploration vessels, to use its EEZ waters without prior approval, Indian media reported.