Jakarta, April 19 (IANS). According to media reports last week, a Chinese undersea monitoring system (working under water) has been found in an important sea route between Lombok and Bali in Indonesia.
The 3.7-meter-long device was found by fishermen north of Gili Trawangan island in the Lombok Strait, according to Australia’s ABC News. Later the Indonesian Navy took it to Mataram Naval Base in Lombok for examination.
Indonesian Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Tunggul said the device would be thoroughly investigated to find out what it is, what its purpose is, what data it contains and where it came from.
According to defense analyst HI Sutton, this device is a “deep-sea real-time transmission mooring system”, made by China’s 710 Research Institute.
Sutton said that this institute works on techniques related to underwater attack and defense.
He also said that the device monitors things like ocean current, depth, temperature and “sound and target information”.
The report also said that the 710 Research Institute was earlier a part of China’s state-owned company China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), which has now been incorporated into China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
The letters of CSIC and the logo of the company are also engraved on this device.
The system is designed to send data via a communication buoy on the surface of the ocean, while the device itself remains attached to an anchor in the ocean’s depths.
Sutton said that it can also be used for military purposes, so it may be a matter of concern for Indonesian officials that such a Chinese sensor buoy has been found in this area.
A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry said that he did not have specific information on this matter, but China always conducts marine research and uses such equipment in accordance with international law.
The spokesperson told the ABC, “Internationally, it is a common practice that due to technical fault or other reasons, such research equipment reaches the territorial waters of other countries. There is no need to draw much doubt or misinterpretation in this.”
Colin Koh, a Singapore-based maritime security expert, said the system’s sensors and ability to send data make it suitable for military use in “undersea warfare.”
He also told that through this, submarines can be detected, but to process that signal, it has to be sent to the station on the shore.
According to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), the discovery of this device is a matter of concern and shows that China may be taking some aggressive steps keeping in mind future military activities.
–IANS
AY/DKP