Chinese Research Vessels
By Jeff Gilmour, 4 April 2026
A recent article published by Reuters mentions that dozens of Chinese research vessels are on a quest to map the sea floor at strategic locations of the world’s oceans.[1] As noted in the article, it will give the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) (PLAN) a detailed picture of the maritime environment in which submarine battles may take place in the future.
China is conducting an undersea mapping and monitoring program across all oceans, including the Arctic, ostensibly for climate, fishing and/or mining research. This exercise will increase its knowledge of marine conditions in these waters. In one example the author refers to Dong Fang Hong 3, a research vessel operated by the Ocean University of China, which spent 2024 and 2025 sailing back and forth in the waters near Taiwan and in strategic stretches of the Indian Ocean. The vessel also checked on a set of ocean sensors capable of identifying undersea objects near Japan.
US Navy officials say that the type of deep-sea data being collected by the ship is giving China a picture of subsea conditions. This information would be very useful if it needs to deploy submarines to hunt down those of its adversaries. Reuters has examined Chinese government and university records and analyzed five years of movements by 42 Chinese research vessels using a ship-tracking platform built by a New Zealand company. This indicates that the Chinese program is significant and widespread.
In recent testimony to a congressional commission, and as quoted in the article published by Reuters, Rear Admiral (USN) Mike Brookes, the commander of the US Office of Naval Intelligence, said China had dramatically expanded its surveying efforts, providing data that “enables submarine navigation, concealment and positioning of seabed sensors or weapons.” He also added that “potential military intelligence collection” by Chinese research vessels “represents a strategic concern.”
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Latest CNR: Vol. 21 No. 3 (2026)
Happy New Year! Now that January is here, we all need something to look forward to – other than bills for all those things you bought for Christmas! Fret no longer, you can look forward to the upcoming CNR issue.
As usual, the new issue of CNR contains a variety of interesting articles. Our first article was the winning essay of the 2025 CNMT Essay Competition. It’s called “Pirates and Partnerships: An Examination of Maritime Non-State Actors,” by Edward Khitab. Khitab uses the example of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to examine the nature and increasing number of maritime non-state actors -- and concludes that the RCN needs to start paying attention to them.
The second article, “The Strategic Utility of Aircraft Carriers in China’s Ambitions in East Asia,” discusses the rapid growth of China’s aircraft carrier capability and how and where Beijing would likely use them in the case of war. The third article is “Why Does Canada have a Navy? Reflecting on the Canadian Leaders at Sea Program.” In this article, the author addresses a simple question that was asked while he was participating in the CLaS program, and considers what a navy represents and why Canada has one. The final essay, “SS Nerissa: A Tragic Footnote to History,” tells the little-known story of the last voyage of SS Nerissa that was sunk by a U-boat while transporting troops and civilians across the Atlantic in the Second World War.
If that isn’t enough to spark your interest, we have our usual Making Waves commentaries. We have a commentary about hydrography in the Arctic. Sound boring? It’s not. If Canada is getting submarines that are expected to operate in the Arctic, Ottawa needs to act now to map the seafloor there. We have a commentary about the many historic discussions about moving the Coast Guard into the defence department. We have a commentary about the unthinkable – i.e., having naval ships that can act as ‘tripwires’ in the event that the United States decides to blockade Canada. We have an account of a conference in Australia, Canadian interest in East Asia, and preparing for Russia in the Arctic.
And, of course, we have our regular columns. “A View from the West” looks at North Korea’s increasing focus on its navy. “Dollars and Sense” examines the defence-related parts of Budget 2025, and “Warship Developments” updates us on several interesting recent naval decisions.
In addition to all this great information, we have our usual amazing photos!
Stay tuned. In a few weeks, the issue will be in the mailbox of people who are lucky enough to be subscribers! It’s not too late for you to subscribe. See here for the Table of Contents.
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