Tense relationships at the border did not stop India from sending its "Air MR assets" on Wednesday (17) after the Chinese Navy requested assistance in the ongoing search for a fishing vessel from China that sank in the Indian Ocean.
The ill-fated vessel had 39 people on board, including 17 crew members from China and Indonesia each and five from the Philippines. Beijing sought aid from a number of nations, including India, for the rescue operation of the vessel, in the central region of the ocean since Tuesday (16).
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The Indian Navy issued a statement on Thursday (18) in which it confirmed having deployed its "Air MR assets" in the southern Indian Ocean Region to rescue the vessel.
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In a tweet, the navy spokesperson said, "P8I aircraft have carried out multiple & extensive searches despite adverse weather & located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel. As an immediate response, SAR equipment was deployed at the scene by the Indian aircraft on request of PLA(N) ships closing the area."
In another tweet, it said, “In a display of India’s obligations as a #credible & #responsible partner for ensuring #safety at sea, the #IndianNavy units also coordinated #SAR efforts with other units in the area & guided #PLA(N) warships transiting to the scene of incident."
The Chinese media on Thursday said that two bodies were located in the search. Xinhua News agency said that the ongoing operation following the capsizing of the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 “found and salvaged the remains of two victims”.
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The details of the nationalities of the deceased were not shared.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the media in Beijing on Thursday that "as we speak, the search and rescue operation is still underway".
He said the rescue operation has drawn close attention from across the region. Countries such as Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives and the Philippines have extended emergency assistance and sent sympathies for the Chinese boat and crew, he said, providing an update about the search operations.
The vessel sank within Australia's huge search-and-rescue region, Beijing's ambassador to Canberra Xiao Qian on Thursday (18) said, adding that it was 5,000 kilometres to the west of Perth.
Australia, which is a member of the Quad grouping along with India, also sent three aeroplanes and four ships to help in the international search-and-rescue efforts, the diplomat said earlier, urging Canberra to send more planes, ships and personnel to find the boat.
(With agency inputs)
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