The chief unmanned systems expert at the defence analytics firm Janes says the find came as a surprise, as its location was far away from China’s maritime claims.
Underwater gliders found in Indonesian Waters | Janes analysis
11 January 2021
by Kelvin Wong
Key points
An unidentified autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), believed to be of Chinese origin, was discovered off Selayar Island in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province in late December 2020, following the recovery of comparable systems in the Riau Islands in March 2019 and Masalembu Islands in January 2020.
The location of the latest discovery is also close to strategic waterways used by international traffic – such as the Lombok Strait that connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.
Indonesian media reported in late December 2020 that a Iocal fisherman had discovered an unidentified “missile-like” object in waters off Selayar Island in Indonesia’s South Sulawesi province around 20 December and handed it over to the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia-Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) on 26 December 2020.
Experts have determined that an underwater surveillance drone found in Indonesian sovereign waters was Chinese-built. The object, described as missile-like was a Chinese autonomous underwater glider, Haiyi.
8th January 2021 - 19:30 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch RSS
Chinese sea gliders are roving far and wide across regional seas, as the latest discovery in Indonesia indicates.
Indonesian fishermen discovered an unmarked sea glider on 20 December, but it is highly likely that it was a Chinese-operated AUV tasked with collecting oceanographic data.
Pictures of the salvaged vehicle show it is identical to the Chinese-built Haiyi (which translates as Sea Wing). The Tianjin University-designed platform has a .
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