(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Chinese state television CCTV has aired footage showing how its coast guard successfully seized equipment known as “sonobuoys” dropped by a US P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft in the South China Sea to detect submarine presence.
The video released by the national television station illustrates how easily the crew of the country’s coast guard vessels detected and “captured” the sonobuoys dropped by the American aircraft in the South China Sea on the same day.
According to the CCTV report, the US P-8A Poseidon aircraft was observed circling over a location in the South China Sea, repeatedly dropping sonobuoy equipment into the sea.
“These devices dropped by the US aircraft are used to detect signals emitted by Chinese submarines,” said an expert quoted in the television report.
The station reported that the US P-8A Poseidon aircraft was seen dropping sonobuoys near Second Thomas Shoal, located just 105 nautical miles from Palawan Island in the Philippines.
The Philippines calls it Ayungin Shoal, while China refers to it as Renai Jiao.
Despite being within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), China claims Second Thomas Shoal, leading to escalating clashes between vessels of both nations in the surrounding coral reef waters.
Recently, the Philippine government accused Chinese coast guard crews of attacking and damaging boats carrying its personnel.
Eight crew members of the Philippine vessel were injured in the altercation with the Chinese coast guard, including one who lost a finger.
Second Thomas Shoal is also home to the dilapidated Philippine Navy ship BRP Sierra Madre, which has been a point of contention between Manila and Beijing.
Sonobuoys are crucial sensor devices in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) missions, deployable by aircraft or surface ships.
Once deployed from their carrying platforms, sonobuoys sink to predefined depths and begin collecting acoustic data for submarines.
These sonobuoy devices are equipped with various tools including radio transmitters and hydrophone sensors.
The acoustic data gathered by sonobuoys is typically transmitted via VHF channels to airborne or surface platforms for processing, aiming to pinpoint the locations of enemy submarines attempting to evade detection.
Military analysts suggest that China’s capture of ASW warfare equipment dropped by the American maritime aircraft enables Beijing’s experts to potentially reverse-engineer these sophisticated tools, a tactic they have employed previously.
In the video broadcast by CCTV, the seized sonobuoy prominently displays the label “Ultra Electronics,” a British defense and security company that supplies sonobuoys and related equipment to the US military.
CCTV, owned by the Chinese government, also claimed that the country’s military conducted exercises in the South China Sea over four days, deploying various assets in disputed waters involving several regional countries including Malaysia.
Chinese coast guard vessels are notorious for frequent incursions into Malaysia’s EEZ waters, particularly around Luconia Shoal (Beting Patinggi Ali) and its surrounding areas, which host numerous multi-billion-dollar oil and gas facilities. — DSA