NYTIMES: China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash

Surveying the Front Line of a Potential Conflict

Last February, a Chinese research ship named the Da Yang Hao sailed along Taiwan’s east coast, tracing a series of parallel lines over five days.

In the months that followed, five other Chinese research ships, including the Xiang Yang Hong 6, returned to the area, following similar routes. They often moved at slow speeds, typically 8 to 10 miles an hour, ideal for mapping undersea features using sonar and other techniques, a science known as bathymetry.