INDONS SEIZE CHINA-MADE UNDERWATER DRONES IN THEIR WATERS

Four years ago, China seized a US underwater vehicle suspected of spying in the disputed South China Sea (SCS) and criticized the US for “close-up reconnaissance activities against China.”

Now, the tide has turned. Indonesia has found three underwater drones, the latest discovered in late December near South Sulawesi’s Selayar Island.

The 2.25-meter long unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), labelled “Shenyang Institute of Automation Chinese Academy of Sciences,” was later transferred to the 6th Main Naval Base in Makassar where it is being inspected, Kristin Huang reported for the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in defence strategy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was significant this glider was recovered in the Sunda Strait, which is one of the key maritime straits that could accommodate China deploying submarines into the Indian Ocean while submerged.

“The glider would be taking sonar soundings of the ocean bottom to get an accurate bathymetric map of the sea floor, as well as using sensors to understand thermal conditions within the water, and acoustic conditions, so as to give PLA Navy submarines the best chance for traversing the Sunda Strait without being detected,” Davis said.

“By deploying these gliders in these locations – even if they are in the waters of foreign states – China can ensure their submarines are best able to deploy from the South China Sea into the Indian Ocean, or against Australia’s north and western maritime approaches in a future conflict.”

A UUV is a robot that travels underwater to gather oceanographic data such as seawater temperature, salinity, turbidity and chlorophyll and oxygen levels without input from an operator.

UUVs can help understand the undersea environment to support future operations by submarines, and are of high interest to navies around the world.

The Chinese drone fleet was deployed by the specialist survey ship Xiangyanghong 06 on a winter survey mission for the Joint Ocean and Ecology Research Project run by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, according to an article in Forbes by defense analyst H.I. Sutton.

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