 |
| The HY-2A is launched last year |
China intends to launch eight maritime surveillance satellites over the next eight years, a senior official from the National Satellite Ocean Application Service has announced, amid efforts by China to improve its surveillance capabilities in the contested waters of the East and South China Sea.
Jiang Xingwei (蔣興偉), director of the service, said four of the satellites would be used to monitor sea coloration and two to keep track of sea currents which would bring China up to speed with other developed countries on oceanographic surveillance.
Of special interest to other countries involved in territorial disputes with China over islets and waters in the area, including Taiwan and Japan, the other two orbiters are to act as maritime radar satellites to reinforce China’s jurisdiction over those areas.
My article, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.
We can surely see an arms race concerning the survelliance of the actors of the South China Sea. Japan and US are thinking in transform Guam in a hub for drones to check all chinese movements in contested waters considering that China always run through your EEZ. Now China will deploy 8 satellites to monitor all your waters and adjacent waters.. the survelliance now became a serious question.. I think Taiwan and South Korea will do the same thing in the next future..
ReplyDelete