China is to build facilities for its deep-sea exploration program in the South China Sea, which some observers believe may also serve a military purpose.
The People’s Daily reported on Thursday that the southernmost port city of Sanya on the South China Sea in Hainan province would host the research base with completion of construction by 2019.
At an estimated cost of 560 million yuan (US$85.6 million), the base, to be operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will have the capacity to accommodate and service five to seven research vessels and manned and unmanned submersibles.
Among those submersibles rumored to move to their new home port of Sanya are the Deep Sea Warrior, able to carry a crew of four and descend to 4,500 meters below sea level. The average depth of the South China Sea is 1,212 meters.
Another autonomous underwater vehicle, Qianlong-2, is also capable of diving to 4,500 meters below the surface.
China now has only one deep-sea exploration base in the northern coastal city of Qingdao, meaning an arduous journey for vessels and submersibles heading for the South China Sea or even the Indian Ocean.
“The marked strides of Chinese submersibles as they dive deeper and deeper in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean is also an indicator of the Chinese Navy’s blue-water capabilities, and for sure Beijing is not splashing out hefty money on these manned and unmanned underwater vehicles to just collect some coral samples from the bottom of the vast waters,” said one commentary on the Kanwa defense forum.
The proposed Sanya facility for Chinese submersibles is not far from an existing submarine base.
The fortification of the strategically-located Sanya as a logistic port for Chinese airmen and marines deployed across the South China Sea, on atolls and artificial islands, are all sources of concern to many in the region.
Analysts believe the Chinese submersibles can also work in tandem with People’s Liberation Army submarines and warships in patrols to monitor activities of foreign navies when vessels from other nations sail into the sea on freedom-of-navigation missions.
One lead designer of the Qianlong submersibles said in a China Central Television program last year that surveillance cameras and sonar could be mounted on the undersea vehicles, which would be ideal to detect and observe marine life and other activities at great depths beneath the surface.
I know the author thinks they’re saying something intelligent but I ask you, what sort of contruction cannot have a potential military application? Every building and road, literally almost any infrastructure development can be interpreted in this manner, and people have already interpreted development of roads along China’s Belt and Road Initiative in this manner. It’s already proven to be a useless talking point. The relevant issues are which areas ARE used for military purposes. This nonsense is simply fear-mongering.
China is a bully with problems all along its borders. It has absorbed Tibet into China based on claims that would not stand independent scrutiny. The people on the periphery of China fear it. There is no good will for China on its periphery because of the aggressive and expansionist policies of China. It’s either the Chinese way off the highway. Countries want relationship with China because of its large market. Nothing more. Chinese rise is anything but peaceful. If it had been peaceful, China would have surpassed US in power and prestige by now. The future may belong to Asia, led by China, if only China learns to be magnanimous and rise peacefully along with rest of Asia.