Beijing’s growing research activities in international waters are designed to expand undersea military operations, analysts say
Chinese research vessels with ties to the People’s Liberation Army are conducting sweeping surveys of the undersea floor in the Indian Ocean, collecting data that could be crucial in deploying submarines in a region that is a critical energy supply line for Beijing in the event of a war with Taiwan.
A new analysis of hundreds of thousands of hours of shipping data since 2020 by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies shows that the Indian Ocean is fast becoming one of the biggest domains for Chinese oceanic surveys, which are ostensibly civilian in nature but tied to the PLA and Beijing’s military-civil fusion program — a national strategic plan to advance China’s military by acquiring technology and research from civilian groups.
The types of ocean surveys carried out by the vessels have research applications for energy resources and marine environments, but the data collected can also be used for military purposes, analysts say, including how to maneuver and obscure submarines during conflict.
The CSIS report found that of the 13 vessels undertaking the bulk of survey and research activity in the Indian Ocean since 2020, all have links to China’s military — including organizational ties to the PLA — and have displayed suspicious behavior including docking at Chinese military ports or temporarily turning off tracking devices.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Chinese research vessels with ties to the People’s Liberation Army are conducting sweeping surveys of the undersea floor in the Indian Ocean, collecting data that could be crucial in deploying submarines in a region that is a critical energy supply line for Beijing in the event of a war with Taiwan.
The types of ocean surveys carried out by the vessels have research applications for energy resources and marine environments, but the data collected can also be used for military purposes, analysts say, including how to maneuver and obscure submarines during conflict.
“The Indian Ocean is critical to China’s strategic and economic interests, as well as its geopolitical rivalry with India,” said Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow at CSIS who worked on the report.
More recently, the White House has sought to show its ties with New Delhi remain strong, despite a spat over the alleged attempted assassination of a Sikh separatist by an Indian government employee on U.S. soil.
Last year, the United States, Britain and Australia unveiled plans to equip Canberra with its own nuclear-powered submarines as part of a landmark agreement called AUKUS, designed to counter China’s growing presence in the region.
During that time it deployed underwater gliders and floats — devices to capture complex data about the marine environment — as part of a national project called “Two Oceans One Sea,” which, according to descriptions posted by Chinese state research groups, is designed to advance strategic needs including “security and military activities.”
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