China intends to launch eight maritime surveillance satellites over the next eight years, a senior official from the National Satellite Ocean Application Service has announced, amid efforts by China to improve its surveillance capabilities in the contested waters of the East and South China Sea.
Jiang Xingwei (蔣興偉), director of the service, said four of the satellites would be used to monitor sea coloration and two to keep track of sea currents which would bring China up to speed with other developed countries on oceanographic surveillance.
Of special interest to other countries involved in territorial disputes with China over islets and waters in the area, including Taiwan and Japan, the other two orbiters are to act as maritime radar satellites to reinforce China’s jurisdiction over those areas.
China currently relies on aircraft and three orbiters to conduct surveillance of its territorial waters and islands — including the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) and Scarborough Shoal (黃岩島, Huangyan Island) — but those do no have the ability to lock on fixed locations, Jiang said, adding that the two new maritime radar satellites would remedy that shortcoming.
Two Hai Yang-1 (HY-1) and one HY-2 oceanography satellites were launched in 2002, 2007 and last year respectively. However, their sun-synchronous orbit means that the satellites are to pass over the same location every two to three days.
Jiang said the additions would also bolster China’s remote-sensing capabilities over waters near other contested islands, including the Paracels (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) and Spratlys (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea by augmenting overall surveillance.
The National Development and Reform Commission has already approved the program, Xinhua news agency reported Jiang as saying yesterday. It is not known whether the new satellites are to be from the HY family or from a different type. According to NASA, China plans to launch HY-2B, HY-2C and HY-2D this year, in 2015 and in 2019.
According to an official from the State Oceanic Administration, since its launch three years ago, the China Oceanic Information Network has expanded its coverage from offshore waters to distant areas and now covers about 300,000km2 of ocean.
Satellite imagery and data are used by the China Marine Surveillance to monitor the “legitimate” and “illegal” use of China’s territorial waters and areas within its exclusive economic zone, as well as to provide maritime services with key information on oil spills and emergencies.
‧ Four of the eight satellites are to be used to monitor sea coloration and two to keep track of sea currents.
‧ China plans to launch the orbiters this year, in 2015 and in 2019.
‧ Coverage now encompasses about 300,000km2 of ocean.
CLEAR BEFORE LEAVING: Two baby boys and a woman in her 30s tested negative before departing for Japan, but tests taken after their arrival came back postive Three Taiwanese tested positive for COVID-19 when they arrived in Japan earlier this month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported a new imported case. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), head of the center, said that one of the three cases in Japan is a Taiwanese baby under the age of one, whose parents work in Japan. The infant came to Taiwan with his parents in January, and the parents paid for the family’s COVID-19 tests on Oct. 10 ahead of their planned return to Japan on Monday last week, he said. The boy and his
‘BACKED BY ENEMY’: CTi News is one of the few channels promoting unification, the New Party chairman said, while pro-Taiwan groups called it a propaganda outlet Pan-blue camp supporters yesterday lodged a protest at the National Communications Commission (NCC) against what they say is a possible move by the government to shut down CTi News, adding that politics should not interfere with freedom of the press. Protesters included representatives from the New Party, the Blue Sky Action Alliance, the 333 Political Party Alliance and other pan-blue groups. “We stand here today because CTi News is one of the few media outlets in Taiwan that is still willing to give groups supporting unification with China a voice. If the news channel is gone, there would only be
NEW YEAR’S EVE: Examples from South Korea and Japan show that 15 local COVID-19 infections could emerge in a short period if measures are not taken The Taipei City Government would cancel its New Year’s Eve Party and all large events if 15 or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 are reported in the city within a week, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday. Addressing the Taipei Cross Border E-Commerce Annual Convention, Ko said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many uncertainties to society, and that e-commerce is on a path of no return and would continue to grow. Many countries have not effectively controlled their COVID-19 outbreaks, and although Taiwan implements strict border controls and there have been few inbound passengers, the pandemic is unlikely to end soon,
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused CTi News of trying to mislead the public by publishing a half-page advert claiming that the party interfered in the National Communications Commission’s (NCC) review of its application for a license renewal. CTi News is distorting the commission’s review process by painting it as a political conflict and turning it into a smear campaign against the DPP, party spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) said. “The NCC is an independent body, which carries out reviews and makes decisions based on its members’ professional expertise, as well as regulations and legal requirements governing media operations,” Yen said. “We condemn
RSS