realpolitikasia: Australia's seabed through the eyes of the Tan Suo Yi Hao - Where in the seabed will China locate military and dual purpose assets

by Ganesh Sahathevan

China's Tan Suo Yi Hao survey ship has been touring Australia.

As reported by Newsweek:

The Chinese vessel did not take the "most direct" route back to China, where it is expected to arrive on April 30,(Ray) Powell said, adding that the "dual-purpose" ship, which is reportedly capable of gathering intelligence, has another objective: surveying the Diamantina Trench.

According to Powell, the Tan Suo Yi Hao paused its voyage twice over the trench, which has a depth of 8,047 meters (26,401 feet). The analyst said this could indicate the deployment of submersibles, which can reach 10,000 meters below sea level, according to its operator.

The "most obvious" reason for China to carry out deep-sea research off Australia and New Zealand would be to facilitate its submarine force deployments, including submarines that are armed with nuclear missiles, at "strategic deep-sea locations," the analyst concluded.

The bathymetry of Australia's coast, EEZ, and the adjacent areas provide the larger context of the Tan Suo Yi Hao's survey.

Given what is known the likely location of Chinese military and dual purpose assets can be determined . Readers are invited to include additional information in the Comments section.

References

The first high-resolution multibeam bathymetry of the central DFZ was collected between June 2014 and June 2016, for the purpose of searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), which disappeared on 8 March 2014.^[5] This revealed that the DFZ has a depth of more than 5,800 m (19,000 ft).^[5] Later research using multibeam bathymetry data available from Geoscience Australia and the GMRT (Global Multi-Resolution Topography) Synthesis, infilled with data derived from the GEBCO_2014 global bathymetry dataset, suggested that the deepest point in the fracture zone would be at 33.452°S 101.468°E in the Dordrecht Deep, within the axis of the fracture zone, with a maximum water depth of between 7,090 to 7,100 metres (23,260 to 23,290 ft).^[8]

Based on this research, it was suggested that the Dordrecht Deep within the DFZ in the southeast Indian Ocean, and the Sunda Trench in the eastern Indian Ocean (~11.2°S 118.5°E), are the two candidates for the deepest points in the Indian Ocean.^[9]