On December 17, 2025, locals spotted a migratory seagull fitted with a Chinese-made GPS device near Thimmakka Garden beach in Karwar, Uttara Kannada, mere kilometers from the strategic INS Kadamba naval base—India’s key western fleet hub hosting submarines and warships. Forest department’s marine wing captured the exhausted bird, confirming the tracker linked to Beijing’s Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, ostensibly for studying migration routes spanning over 10,000 km across Arctic regions. Karwar police and naval authorities launched a multi-agency inquiry, analyzing transmission capabilities amid espionage fears, echoing a November 2024 “war eagle” incident nearby. From an Indian security lens, this underscores Beijing’s potential to mask surveillance as ecological research near vital assets, demanding rigorous device forensics and diplomatic verification to safeguard coastal defenses.