Chinese Spy Ships Shadow U.S. and Allies
A Chinese spy ship is shadowing a multinational exercise-including U.S. Navy forces-in the West Pacific. The ship is likely attempting to collect intelligence on U.S. and allied navies, and retaliate for U.S. spying off the Chinese coast.
The United States, Japan and India are currently conducting naval exercises in the Western Pacific. The exercises, which include the carrier USS John C. Stennis, are designed to improve cooperation between the three naval powers-all of which are neighbors of China or otherwise oppose Chinese expansionism into the East and South China Seas. The Chinese ship was reportedly 7 to 10 miles away.
The Chinese vessel is what's known as a Type 815 missile-range observation ship. The mission of the Type 815s is to collect data on missile launches-both Chinese and foreign. The ships displace 6,000 tons and have two to four large domes mounted on the superstructure, each protecting a telemetry dish, high-speed camera, or radar dish from salt water.
The ship is allegedly also equipped to collect electronic intelligence in the form of radar signals and communications traffic. In other words, it's a floating version of the U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries II aircraft that Beijing sent fighters to intercept just last month off the coast of China.
The ships also have weapon recovery cranes on board. While this may sound like something out of a James Bond movie, they're more commonly used to fish spent Chinese missiles out of the water for further study.
A separate spy ship, also identified as a Type 815, was detected today off the coast of Kagoshima, Japan. The vessel had apparently entered Japan's territorial waters, which extend to twelve miles off the coast. The ship was ordered to leave by Japanese authorities.
There are at least three Type 815 boats in service. In 2014, one of the ships was spotted off the coast of Hawaii, where it was monitoring the multinational Rim of the Pacific exercises-which included three Chinese navy ships. The ship stayed at a distance and did not disrupt the exercises.
Chinese ships are again participating in this July's Rim of the Pacific 2016 exercises, and at the ship spotted off Japan may be headed to Hawaii.
Via Reuters
