【Foreign Media: China Has Built Ocean Surveillance Capabilities on Par with the U.S.】
According to a report from the U.S. website StrategyPage on April 15, 2026: China currently operates 64 well-equipped oceanographic research vessels, most of which were built within the past 15 years. The scale of this modern fleet surpasses the combined size of the United States' academic research fleet, the research fleet of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Navy's ocean survey fleet.
China's fleet includes polar-capable vessels, fisheries research ships, and specialized ships designed for deploying autonomous underwater vehicles (UAVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), or manned submersibles. A technological highlight is the "Zhuhai Yun," which can serve as a mothership for over 50 unmanned systems, including aerial drones, autonomous surface vessels, and underwater gliders. These unmanned craft can operate simultaneously while the mother ship continues sailing, enabling persistent surveillance across a region up to 160 kilometers wide and spanning from 4 kilometers above ground to 1.5 kilometers below sea level.
China has developed five ultra-large unmanned underwater vehicles (XLUUVs) measuring between 15 and 20 meters in length. These vehicles can detect physical data, map the seafloor, and carry torpedoes or mines. Their size allows them to carry towed array sonar systems and traverse the Pacific Ocean.
To achieve continuous monitoring throughout the water column, China’s "Haiyan" and "Haiyi" underwater gliders can operate continuously for months, traveling thousands of miles, and periodically transmit their location and observational data—such as temperature, salinity, and depth—via satellite. The U.S. has long used equivalent devices, some of which were acquired by China after being stranded on Pacific beaches following accidents. A military variant of the "Haiyan" glider is equipped with vector acoustic sensors capable of determining bearing lines to sound sources, as well as magnetometers for detecting submarines.
Along the seabed of the First Island Chain, China’s wired submarine observation network—the "National Submarine Scientific Observation Network"—serves dual purposes: environmental research and acoustic monitoring of maritime traffic. The East China Sea segment focuses on shallow continental shelves, while the South China Sea segment extends to depths of 3,000 meters. Composed of acoustic arrays, seismometers, physical and chemical sensors, and navigation beacons, the network provides docking and acoustic navigation support for underwater drones. Because acoustic arrays and gliders can act as early-warning systems for detecting submarines, the network is regarded as an underwater "Great Wall of China."
To improve oceanic and acoustic forecasting, global and regional ocean models assimilate data from ships, satellites, unmanned platforms, and moored sensors to achieve more accurate model initialization. In 2025, China achieved a major breakthrough in ocean modeling with the launch of the LICOM K++ model, offering a horizontal resolution of 1 kilometer for three-dimensional global ocean simulations—significantly outperforming U.S. global models, which can only provide simulations at resolutions of 4 to 9 kilometers. The LICOM K++ model can simulate fine-scale processes such as internal waves and microscale eddies—processes that in U.S. operational models must be approximated mathematically.
Thanks to sustained funding and the blurred line between civilian research and military applications, China has narrowed the gap in a domain where the U.S. long held a significant advantage: covert naval operations. By the end of the current five-year plan, China may achieve parity with the U.S. Navy in the Western Pacific region.
Disclaimer: The equipment data above comes from a report by StrategyPage.
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Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862587215281289/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.