Chinese research ship to make resupply call

The Maldives has granted permission for a controversial Chinese vessel to make a resupply call but it will not undertake any "research", the Indian Ocean archipelago nation's foreign ministry said yesterday.

China's Xiang Yang Hong 3, which has been reportedly turned down port entry by Sri Lanka, is due to call at Male in early February, according to ship monitoring website MarineTraffic.

The vessel will "not be conducting any research while in the Maldivian waters", the foreign ministry said, following media reports from neighbouring India accusing Beijing of using the ship for "surveillance".

The Maldives said the vessel would stop only for "a port call, for rotation of personnel and replenishment". There was no immediate comment from China.

India is suspicious of China's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Relations between Male and New Delhi have plummeted since pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu won elections last year.