"The pretext is anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden. But what role can submarines play against pirates and their dhows?" said a defence ministry source.The Navy has tracked seven Chinese submarines in the IOR till now, with the first being a Shang-class nuclear attack submarine (SSN) from December 2013 to February 2014. "Two Chinese submarines, a nuclear one alternating with a diesel-electric one, are coming for three months each to the IOR every year. India, of course, lags far behind China in the underwater combat arena, with just 13 old diesel-electric and two nuclear submarines.

Source: Times of India May 12, 2017 17:00 UTC