Latest news with #TanSuoYiHao
Epoch Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Philippines Escorts Chinese Research Vessel out of EEZ, Unlike Australia and NZ
The Philippines has shown a different attitude to the presence of a CCP research vessel in its territorial waters than Australia and New Zealand in March this year with its coastguard escorting the ship out of its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tan Suo 3 was first detected illegally conducting marine scientific research about 92 nautical miles (nm) (171 kilometres) off Burgos, Ilocos Norte, on May 1. It is believed to have been undertaking deep-sea mapping to support the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) submarine operations. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) deployed its lead patrol vessel, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, and an aircraft to force the CCP ship outside the country's 220-nautical-mile EEZ. It left without incident and took up a position 250 nm out. While in Philippines waters, the Tan Suo 3 deployed a manned submersible vehicle, the Shenhai Yongshi or Deep-Sea Warrior, which is designed for deep-sea exploration and scientific research, and is capable of diving to a depth of 4,500 metres. The PCG recovered an unidentified piece of yellow-coloured equipment, which it says could be part of the instruments used by the Chinese in their research operations. The Tan Suo 3 leaves the Philippines' waters. Courtesy Philippines Coastguard. The Philippines' rapid and no-nonsense reaction to the incursion of a CCP research ship into its EEZ is in sharp contrast to those of New Zealand and Australia. Related Stories 4/28/2025 4/28/2025 In January this year, New Zealand's National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) invited the Tan Suo Yi Hao to conduct 'deep-sea exploration of marine biodiversity in New Zealand's subantarctic waters' over 56 days. It was the CCP's second collaboration with New Zealand, using its deep-sea manned submersible Fen Dou Zhe. This expedition marked the first exploration of the Puysegur Trench, an 800 kilometre (km) long, deep cleft in the seafloor, with the Fen Dou Zhe diving 6 km to the bottom 32 times. A NIWA spokesperson said the involvement of the Tan Suo Ti Hao was necessary because the Fen Dou Zhe is the only research-focused submersible in the world currently able to dive to the deepest parts of the oceans (about 11,000 metres). 'This expedition brought back never-before-seen footage of life in the Puysegur Trench, as well as the first ever biological specimens, and images of the sea floor,' the spokesperson told The Epoch Times. At a function at the Chinese Embassy in Wellington, the CCP's Ambassador Wang Xiaolong called the research 'a crown jewel of bilateral evolving mutually-beneficial partnership.' The Tan Suo Yi Hao. Photograph from the CCP Institute of Acoustics. Asked by this newspaper whether there were any defence and security concerns with having a CCP ship mapping areas in which a submarine could potentially be concealed, New Zealand's Defence Minister Judith Collins said the NZ Defence Force was aware of its location and movements, 'as the Defence Force maintains maritime domain awareness of foreign ships to our region. 'However, the NZDF wasn't actively monitoring it as it had approval to visit New Zealand and conduct operations here with NIWA.' She would not be drawn on whether New Zealand had informed Australia of the vessel's presence before, during, or after it left New Zealand's territorial waters and sailed along Australia's southern coastline. It was a trajectory that seemed to take Australia by surprise, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling reporters he would 'prefer' the ship hadn't done so, but that it hadn't broken any international laws. The Australian Department of Defence deployed a P-8A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to monitor the ship's activities. In a statement, Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones said the Tan Suo Yi Hao entered Australia's EEZ from the Tasman Sea on March 27 and subsequently passed through the Bass Strait between 28 and 29 March, making steady progress. It then spent some time approximately 400 nautical miles (741 km) southeast of Perth. Returning to China via the southern coast of Australia was not the most direct route for the vessel, and nor did the CCP give any reason why it halted its progress several times, once for 12 hours and then a further 17 hours, while it was east of the Australian coast. That led a number of China-watchers to speculate that it had deployed the Fen Dou Zhe to explore and map the Diamantina Trench, between 550 and 630 nm from Australia's coast. Ray Powell, a 35-year veteran of the US Air Force who's currently director of SeaLight and Project Lead at Stanford University's Gordian Knot Center is one of those. He noted A map of the path taken by the Tan Suo Yi Hao in 2023, when it repeatedly traversed the area of the Diamantina Trench after sailing past the southern coast of Australia. Courtesy Ray Powell/via Starboard_NZ Powell noted the ship is owned by China's Institute of Acoustics, which has 'deep PLA ties going back decades, as is clearly outlined The Chinese Academy of Sciences has signed What Does Sea Mapping Achieve? Submarines rely on the ocean floor relief to navigate and hide; therefore, understanding the seabed's shape and composition is essential. With a new submarine base due to be constructed at Perth to act as the southern hemisphere centre of operations for the AUKUS fleet, there are obvious strategic advantages to the CCP if being able to covertly surveil—and perhaps even respond to—submarine movements from a deep trench which wouldn't be detected by the U.S. and Australia. The 'most obvious' reason for the CCP to carry out deep-sea research off Australia and New Zealand would be to facilitate its submarine force deployments, including those that are armed with nuclear missiles, at 'strategic deep-sea locations,' Powell concluded. The activities of the research vessel occurred only weeks after While in the southern Tasman, they carried out a The Australian Department of Defence was asked by The Epoch Times for comment on any security risk posed by the work of the Tan Suo Yi Hao off Australia's coast, whether New Zealand informed them of the presence of the ship in the South Pacific Ocean, and whether existing counter-submarine technology could detect a foreign submarine in the Diamantina Trench. However, they declined to comment.
Miami Herald
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
China Mapping Seafloor Around US Allies to Send Nuclear Submarines-Analyst
A Chinese vessel is suspected of mapping the seafloor around U.S. allies Australia and New Zealand to support submarine deployments, an analyst has said. All observed activities conducted by the ship, Tan Suo Yi Hao, "appear to be in accordance with international law," the Australian Defense Department told Newsweek. Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry for comment by email. The Tan Suo Yi Hao, which means "Discovery One" in English, is operated by the state-run Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering. It is built for conducting deep-sea exploration and is the mother ship of two types of submersibles. China is expanding its military reach and presence within and beyond the western Pacific Ocean with the largest navy in the world by hull count-which has more than 370 vessels, including 12 nuclear-powered submarines, according to the latest Pentagon assessment. Last summer, three Chinese research vessels were tracked operating in the Indian Ocean for suspected survey missions, which could be used to aid in China's submarine warfare. Both Australia and New Zealand are part of the Five Eyes, a U.S.-led intelligence alliance. The Tan Suo Yi Hao was underway in the southeastern portion of the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia as of Tuesday, Ray Powell, the director of the Stanford University-affiliated SeaLight maritime analysis organization, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. A Newsweek map shows the Chinese ship was outside the Australian 200-nautical-mile (230-mile) exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It previously transited the Great Australian Bight off Australia's southern coastline and the country's EEZ after leaving New Zealand. The Chinese vessel did not take the "most direct" route back to China, where it is expected to arrive on April 30, Powell said, adding that the "dual-purpose" ship, which is reportedly capable of gathering intelligence, has another objective: surveying the Diamantina Trench. According to Powell, the Tan Suo Yi Hao paused its voyage twice over the trench, which has a depth of 8,047 meters (26,401 feet). The analyst said this could indicate the deployment of submersibles, which can reach 10,000 meters below sea level, according to its operator. The "most obvious" reason for China to carry out deep-sea research off Australia and New Zealand would be to facilitate its submarine force deployments, including submarines that are armed with nuclear missiles, at "strategic deep-sea locations," the analyst concluded. Prior to its voyage near Australia, the Chinese vessel conducted a joint research expedition from January to March with scientists from New Zealand at the Puysegur Trench's deepest point, located 6,208 meters below sea level and to the southwest of New Zealand. In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for the Australian Defense Department said the "Chinese government-owned" Tan Suo Yi Hao was approximately 737 nautical miles west-southwest of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, as of Tuesday. Australia has not observed the Chinese deep-sea science and engineering research vessel "conducting maritime research or survey activities" within its EEZ, the statement added. Marine scientific research within the EEZ waters "shall be conducted with the consent of the coastal state," according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A spokesperson for the Australian Defense Department said: "[The Australian Defense Force] monitored the Tan Suo Yi Hao as it transited to the south of Australia and while it remained in our maritime approaches." A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Australia said: "Over recent years China has conducted joint scientific expeditions with multiple countries, making positive contribution to global marine biodiversity protection and sustainable development. Politicizing or stigmatizing of the research activities is disrespectful to global scientific development." Alex Luck, a naval analyst in Australia, wrote on X: "China has had a long-standing program running to reach some of the deepest maritime regions. This has research applications, but also an obvious political and reputational angle as a maritime nation." It remains to be seen how long the Tan Suo Yi Hao will stay in the waters off Australia. Its voyage comes after China sent a flotilla for an unprecedented circumnavigation of Australia and the deployment of an American nuclear-powered submarine to Australia. Related Articles China Responds to Zelensky's Claim Chinese Soldiers Captured in UkraineNew Trump Tariffs Imposed With Over 100% on ChinaTrump Admin Responds to Ukraine's Capture of Chinese TroopsChina Reacts to Pete Hegseth's Panama Canal Remarks 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
The Guardian
31-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Albanese ‘would prefer' Chinese research vessel was not off the coast of Australia
Anthony Albanese says he 'would prefer' a Chinese research vessel was not sitting off the coast of Victoria and stressed it will be closely monitored by the Australian defence force. The research vessel Tan Suo Yi Hao was directly south of the Victorian town of Portland on Monday afternoon and travelling west after a port call in Wellington. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'I would prefer that it wasn't there,' Albanese told reporters. 'But we live in circumstances where, just as Australia has vessels in the South China Sea and vessels in the Taiwan Strait and a range of areas, this vessel is there. 'It's been in New Zealand on a joint research operation and this isn't the first time that a similar vessel has been around the Australian coast. It occurred in 2020, just to give one example. Australia, as you would expect, is monitoring this.' Another Chinese research vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 01, was detected and tracked in Australian waters in 2020. The Tan Suo Yi Hao was travelling close to Australia's subsea communication cables. These cables are critical infrastructure that allow Australians to send everything from emails to military secrets. The ship has not announced plans to visit any Australian ports and was expected to return to China in late April. Its current course was in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Albanese said Australian authorities would track the movements of Tan Suo Yi Hao and added 'we won't – for obvious reasons – broadcast everything that we're doing'. 'But we're keeping an eye on this,' Albanese said. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said: 'We know exactly where it is, we know the direction it is heading, and the speed it's moving in that direction.' According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Tan Suo Yi Hao has 11 laboratories onboard and is capable of conducting deep-sea surveillance. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The Tan Suo Yi Hao was in New Zealand as part of an eight-nation scientific venture and helped New Zealand scientists reach the bottom of the Puysegur trench for the first time, according to local media. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's marine biologist, Sadie Mills, told New Zealand media the vessel enabled scientists to reach locations previously out of reach and that she hoped 'they come back and look at the trenches again'. In 2023, the Tan Suo Yi Hao helped a Chinese-New Zealand crew of scientists 10,000 metres to the bottom of the Kermadec Trench. The presence of three People's Liberation Army-Navy vessels – the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu – became a political issue earlier this month after being detected off north-east Queensland. The defence minister, Richard Marles, vowed to follow the three ships as they tracked the Australian coast south before crossing the Bass Strait and entering the Great Australian Bight. Those three navy ships did not cross into Australia's territorial waters – 12 nautical miles from the coastline – but were inside Australia's exclusive economic zone. The ships did not breach international law and the defence force has said its monitoring of the fleet was 'routine'. Security experts have long raised concerns about 'dual-use' technology on sophisticated Chinese research vessels, including those that operate in Antarctica, also being used for intelligence gathering. Late last year, the Australian government invited Chinese icebreaking vessels, which also host scientific surveillance equipment, to visit Hobart. China has previously docked its Antarctic research vessels, Xue Long and Xue Long 2, in Hobart before travelling to Antarctica.
