India Confronted Myanmar About Chinese Spy Post on Remote Island

  • India shared images of Chinese workers on island: officials
  • Myanmar calls allegation ‘absurd,’ denies Chinese involvement
The airstrip on Great Coco Island, Myanmar.Source: Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies
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India has confronted Myanmar in recent months with intelligence showing that China is providing assistance in building a surveillance post on a remote island in the Bay of Bengal, according to Indian officials with knowledge of the matter.

Indian government representatives at various levels have shared satellite imagery with Myanmar counterparts that they said depicted Chinese workers helping to construct what appears to be a listening post on the Coco Islands in the Indian Ocean, said the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. The workers were also seen extending an airstrip, they said.