- China is conducting underwater surveys of the Indian Ocean, a report says.
- They could be to plan submarine warfare, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.
- It comes as China looks to expand its military reach in the Asia-Pacific region.
China is mapping vast areas of the Indian Ocean under the guise of civilian research — and it could be to plan submarine warfare, a think tank said.
In a new study, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, think tank said that Chinese vessels carrying out civilian oceanographic-research projects likely collected data for China's People's Liberation Army to help plan potential military operations.
The CSIS said that while much of the research was in the western Pacific and South China Sea, Chinese research vessels increasingly focused on the Indian Ocean.
"While Chinese surveys in the Indian Ocean contribute to scientific and commercial efforts, the data collected on research missions has clear military value—especially to submarine operations," because these require reliable information on complicated undersea conditions to ensure their safety, the report says.
Using data from Windward, a maritime AI-data company, the think tank said it found Chinese research boats had conducted "hundreds of thousands of hours of operations globally over the past four years."
It found that many of these vessels displayed suspicious behavior — such as docking at ports with Chinese "military-affiliated facilities" — or could be linked to Beijing and geopolitical objectives.
The report also said that many vessels went "dark" or turned off identification systems in sensitive areas.
CSIS added that the undersea mapping appears to be part of China's military-civil fusion strategy, where civilian companies or research can be co-opted for military purposes.
The Indian Ocean is a vital area for China's "strategic and economic interests," Matthew Funaiole, a senior fellow at CSIS who worked on the report, told The Washington Post. "Beijing is serious about fielding a blue-water navy, one that will be active in the Indian Ocean, and blurring the lines between its research ecosystem and its national security apparatus will help it get there."
It comes amid China's souring relationship with India.
Andrew Scobell, a distinguished fellow with the China program at the United States Institute of Peace, said in October that China considered India intent on "collaborating with other powers to contain China's rise and counter China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean region."
But he added that China would likely try to retain "cordial" ties with India for the foreseeable future because it wanted "to keep New Delhi contained in a geostrategic South Asian box with the lid on tight."
The Associated Press reported that India is becoming increasingly concerned about the research vessels' activities, and it has pressured Sri Lanka to temporarily ban foreign research boats from its ports over concerns that Chinese vessels are being used for covert military purposes.
