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Commercial sea drones can monitor Chinese warships in South China Sea
The footage of Seasats’ Lightfish drone was released for an incident on June 16, and experts say the threat is the low cost of the commercial platform.
Small commercial sea drones are emerging as a new operational concern for China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, according to coverage by SCMP Economy. SCMP Economy reports that Seasats, a California-based autonomous vessel maker, released footage that Reuters verified, showing its Lightfish drone operating near a Chinese Type 052D guided-missile destroyer on June 16. The latest reported encounter was 105 km, or 65 miles, northwest of Luzon, the largest Philippine island, though the exact location was not disclosed. The company did not respond to questions about who commissioned the drone or what mission it carried out, SCMP Economy adds. Seasats has previously said it received more than US$100 million in US government contracts. Stanford University’s SeaLight Foundation director Ray Powell said the main issue is that a relatively inexpensive commercial platform was able to observe the destroyer. SCMP Economy notes that the Philippines has not reacted to the latest incident, while China’s foreign ministry said the PLA Navy’s activities complied with international law.