Chinese research ship swept the American face

Military analysis of recent GPS satellite data shows that two Chinese research vessels entered Papua New Guinea's EEZ in North Manus Island.

The two research vessels of the "ocean research fleet" of 20 Chinese aircraft have carried out maritime surveys around the Philippines, Palau, Guam and Japan over the past two years.

The move came only weeks after US Vice President Mike Pence announced the redevelopment of the old Lombrum naval base on Manus Island.

In April 2018, "in the name of science" , China dropped an unmanned submarine called Hailong 11000 that dived to a depth of 2,605m below the sea in the Western Pacific.

The unmanned dive ship named Hailong 11000 of China.

ChinaDaily newspaper of China said that at 10:30 am (local time) on April 1, Hailong 11000 had dived into the water from scientific research ship Dayang Yihao and reached a depth of 2,000 meters after about 105 minutes.

Subsequently, the 11000 Hailong ship dived further 605 meters and successfully returned to the sea. Hailong 11000 is designed to operate at a maximum depth of 11,000 meters.

In April 2017, China dropped the dive boat with Giao Long to implement the scientific objective, namely taking advantage of deep diving of Giao Long submarine, deploying the selection of testing sea areas for the system. metal collection system at a depth of 1,000 meters in the North China Sea.

China also intends to build an undersea observatory at the "vital seas in the South China Sea " to observe real-time underwater conditions.

Chinese experts say the observatory will serve as an exploration of underwater physical, chemical, biological and geological processes, and will serve many purposes. other.

Another purpose

What is the other purpose here of Beijing? High-ranking Australian and US military officials acknowledge that oceanographic investigations are completely legal, but believe that ships are collecting invaluable data for future defense activities.

"Information obtained for resource purposes can be used for military purposes , " an unnamed Australian defense official told ABC radio on April 20, 2019.

According to the official, "collecting basic data on seabed structure, seabed topography, salinity and thermal wedge also helps determine sound conditions for submarine operations".

The Australian Ministry of Defense does not formally mention much of China's oceanographic activity, except to note that "Australia's waters have large maritime traffic, including military and government vessels. many other countries ".

"International law allows conducting marine scientific research in international waters provided that activities do not violate the rights of other countries or unreasonably interfere with other legal activities at sea." , Australian Defense Ministry spokesman told ABC radio.

Earlier, in November 2018, the report of the US Naval Academy said: "Out-of-area oceanographic research activities in China have caused much concern for US policymakers."

Before worrying about China's oceanographic research in the Western Pacific, Beijing affirmed its mission is only scientific and legal.