BEIJING, Feb 13 – China is set to build a deep-sea research facility in the resource-rich South China Sea, a move that could strengthen its territorial claims while advancing marine exploration.
According to the South China Morning Post, the 2,000-meter-deep station will allow scientists to study methane-rich cold seep ecosystems, which hold vast deposits of methane hydrates and rare minerals.
It is estimated that the South China Sea holds 70 billion tonnes of methane hydrates, or approximately 50 per cent of China’s entire know oil-and-gas reserves.
The ocean is also known to have cobalt and nickel concentrations three times higher than land-based mines, as well as various fauna critical for medical research.
Expected to be operational by 2030, the facility will house six scientists for extended missions, providing real-time monitoring of tectonic activity and ecological shifts.
China’s seafloor fibre-optic network and the Mengxiang drilling ship will integrate with the station to enhance deep-sea infrastructure and research capabilities.
Experts speculate that the facility may use nuclear power, similar to past deep-sea vessels like the US NR-1 and Russia’s AS-12 Losharik.
China’s move follows a precedent set by Russia’s 2012 Arctic seabed survey, which was later used to support its territorial claims.
China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea through its controversial Nine-Dash Line, which overlaps with the exclusive economic zones of several Asean nations, including Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, and Indonesia.
