China has deployed a network of UAVs to monitor islands and rocks located in the South China Sea to realize unjustified claims in strategic waters.
On September 10, the South China Post (SCMP) reported that a drone network (UAV) operated by China's Ministry of Natural Resources would monitor uninhabited islands or inaccessible areas. and vast seas in the South China Sea.
According to information on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the communication chain of the Chinese UAV network "will significantly improve surveillance in the South China Sea and expand the field of view in areas where deep ocean".
China's UAV system is equipped with high-resolution cameras and mobile communications to act as relay stations and satellite-based maritime telecommunications networks.
These lightweight UAVs are also responsible for supporting the Chinese satellite satellite's remote sensing system, which is often affected by weather like clouds, by providing high resolution images. Many angles and in real time.
Meanwhile, information transfer vehicles can be deployed to places that lack ground communication stations and receive signals from UAVs. These signals can then be transmitted to the satellite network in the form of still images or live transmissions. Eventually, the information will exceed thousands of kilometers to be transferred to the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources headquarters in Guangdong Province.
“This system is used for maritime management, including monitoring of suspicious signs, checking instability and real-time monitoring of waters and islands. It also plays an important role in catastrophic surveillance and emergency response, such as oil spills or seaweed outbreaks that cause red tides, ”said China's Ministry of Natural Resources.
The deployment of the South China Sea surveillance UAV network is China's latest move, in the context of Beijing's expansion in strategic waters.
For a long time, China unilaterally claimed sovereignty over most of the South China Sea through the so-called "nine-dashed line" map. Even in recent years, China has constantly improved, built artificial islands and conducted illegal militarization of these entities to protect unjustified claims in the South China Sea.
In addition, China is also implementing a project of the Hainan satellite constellation system to monitor daily activities in real time in the South China Sea. This project is expected to be completed in 2021.
In addition, Beijing also set up weather radar systems, maritime monitoring systems, and environmental monitoring stations to realize unjustified claims in the South China Sea.
Information about the South China Sea surveillance UAV network was published in the context of Beijing's recent serious violations of international law and sovereignty, sovereignty, jurisdiction and interference. Legal oil and gas exploitation has been deployed long ago in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam and some other coastal countries.
