As Trump scares off US scientists, China is racing ahead

THE Dong Fang Hong 3 is the world’s largest “silent” research ship, supposedly able to glide through water without disturbing fish swimming just 20 m below it.

Equipped with laboratories and the ability to lay sensors, the 103 m vessel owned and operated by the Ocean University of China has spent the past two years mapping the ocean floor.

But, according to a recent Reuters analysis, the vessel – along with others – is collecting subterranean data that could confer a military advantage in the event of underwater warfare. Charting the subsea terrain could identify possible hiding places for submarines, as well as unmask underwater vessels operated by adversaries.