China has unveiled ambitious plans to build a deep-sea research facility 6,000 feet beneath the South China Sea by the end of the decade.
The "deep-sea space station" is designed to support scientific research, resource extraction, and potentially expand China's influence in the strategically important region.
When completed, the station will provide unprecedented access to one of the ocean's most mysterious and resource-rich environments as China doubles down on its commitment to deep-sea exploration and development.
The station will accommodate up to six scientists for extended missions lasting up to a month as researchers study cold seep ecosystems, which remain largely unexplored at these depths.
China has unveiled ambitious plans to build a deep-sea research facility 6,000 feet beneath the South China Sea by the end of the decade
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A key objective of the mission is to monitor vast deposits of methane hydrates, frozen gas formations considered a potential future energy source.
The facility will be equipped with advanced life support systems to enable these extended deep-sea missions, the Oceanographic Magazine has reported.
It will feature a permanent monitoring network tracking methane levels, ecological changes, and tectonic activity and be able to provide real-time data from one of the world's most geologically active regions.
The station will operate alongside uncrewed submersibles, ships, and seabed observatories and, together, it will create a four-dimensional monitoring system of the ocean depths.
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The integrated network aims to offer unprecedented insights into marine biodiversity, undersea geological activity, and natural resource potential.
This vast resource makes up nearly half of China's current oil and gas reserves and, given the strategic important of these deposits, deep-extraction has become a priority for Beijing.
Methane hydrates are widely considered a potential energy goldmine for the future.
While China promotes the project as scientific, its location in the contested South China Sea raises concerns as several nations - including Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei - reject China's broad sovereignty claims over the region.
The plan comes amid a global race to explore the ocean floor (Stock)
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The announcement has followed reports that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence recently detected 62 Chinese military aircraft near its airspace, fuelling speculation that the facility could serve strategic purposes beyond scientific research.
The plan comes amid a global race to explore the ocean floor, while the US chases after another similar project to build an "underwater space station" in the Caribbean.
The US project hopes to create a network of international subsea habitats for scientists, engineers, and even private citizens to support long-term marine research addressing climate change, pollution, and deep-sea conservation.
