China militarizing deep-ocean as another domain of warfare by building deep sea Naval base in South China Sea and deep sea “space station.”

Like the British Royal Navy more than a century before it, the U.S. Navy has a command of the sea that affords the United States unrivaled international influence.  By its use of the sea, which covers nearly three-quarters of the earth, a navy can do things that land-based forces cannot. It can provide extraordinary access to points of interest around the globe, patrolling vital waterways and maneuvering to distant shores and population centers. The United States is a maritime superpower because its heavily armed warships can travel thousands of miles in a matter of days and linger around points of interest without imposing on another country’s sovereignty and, if desired, without provoking much attention. This makes the navy an incredibly powerful tool, especially for responding to international crises.

 

At the same time, the navy’s superior lift capability allows for the transport of firepower, fuel, food, and other cargo needed to sustain distant combat operations. “The crucial enabler for America’s ability to project its military power for the past six decades has been its almost complete control over the global commons,” wrote U.S. Joint Forces Command in a 2010 strategy document. For decades, its size and sophistication have enabled leaders in Washington to project American power over much of the earth, during times of both war and peace.

 

Now the US dominance is challenged  by China especially in East and South China Seas by gaining control of many of the small islands, militarizing them, claiming controversial maritime rights and zones , and through ongoing modernization its navy, building new aircraft carriers, submarines, and frigates.  Beijing has made public its ambitions to create a world-class navy with strong operational capabilities on, above, and below the ocean’s surface. It is investing its energies in establishing elements of dual-purpose communications, reconnaissance, exploration, and manned infrastructure on the ocean floor.

 

The international depth division of the ocean in Chinese classification is: 3500 meters to 6500 meters for the deep sea, 6500 meters to 11,000 meters for the abyss. The oceanic abyss, one of the largest environments on the planet, is characterized by absence of solar light, high pressures and remoteness from surface food supply. More than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by seawater, and the underwater world is rich and vast, waiting for humans to explore. At present, there are only five countries with operational manned submersibles that can reach more than 6,000 meters in depth: China, the United States, Japan, France and Russia.

 

As the modernization of the Chinese navy accelerated, the warship trajectory extended from the offshore to the deep blue, China has made several  breakthroughs in submersibles one after another, with the submersible Jiaolong descending to a depth of 7,062 meters, the unmanned submersible Haidou reaching 10,888 meters, and the deep-sea underwater glider Haiyi diving to 6,329 meters. China is planning to make a manned submersible that is able to reach a depth of over 10,000 meters by 2020. The continuous upgrading of China’s deep-sea equipment will help drive the country’s deep-sea exploration and research, and contribute more to the mankind’s exploration, development and protection of the blue space with rich resources.

 

Deep sea reach is also important to Navies which can collect the information about enemy submarines as well as carry out their own operations undetected. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been steadily building its underwater infrastructure since the 1980s to undertake energy-efficient, long-range and dual-purpose reconnaissance and exploration missions.

 

Monitoring of the oceans and seas for purposes of scientific research, national defense, or commercial development is becoming increasingly automated to reduce costs. For example, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) have emerged as key tools in the offshore engineering industry. With the increasing requirement for persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in areas where access is denied or where ISR is otherwise desirably clandestine, UUVs will be increasingly put to use. Use of UUVs to service devices historically tended by submarines, deep submersible vehicles and divers will substantially reduce cost and risk to the operators. So, it can be seen, persistent ISR and other activities in problematic areas drive the need for means of sensing and communicating that do not require human intervention or costly engineering systems.

 

Beijing has since invested substantially in the R&D of several classes of cylindrical unmanned midget submarines and gliders, technically known as the Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), such as the Explorer, Intelligent Water, and Petrel, to undertake energy-efficient, long-range and dual-purpose reconnaissance and exploration missions at depths of up to 5000 m. In 2016, China’s AUV Qianlong-2 mapped the ocean floor in the southwest Indian Ocean and went in exploration of polymetallic nodules, sulfides, and basalt, which contain several metals in significant quantities.

 

Therefore Beijing is militarzing the deep ocean as another domain of warfare by building platforms for reconnaissance of adverasry submarines and ships and can become launchpads for UUVs and underwater weapons.