India Fights China's Invisible War in Indian Ocean with New Surveillance

• India is countering China's 'grey-zone' maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean, involving intelligence gathering and stealth presence.
• New Delhi is building a maritime surveillance state with underwater sensor networks and autonomous systems.
• China uses research vessels like Dong Fang Hong 3 for deep-sea mapping, which naval experts believe has military utility for submarine navigation.
• India's Deep Ocean Watch initiative, developed with DRDO, uses layered detection architecture including sonar arrays and MAD.
• Despite advancements, India faces a significant gap in surveillance satellites compared to China, hindering information dominance.