A Chinese submarine planted a national flag deep on the floor of the South China Sea during a test dive last month to reinforce China's territorial claim, the boat's designer said yesterday.
The State Oceanic Administration and Ministry of Science and Technology jointly announced yesterday that a Chinese scientific submarine with three civilian crew members had explored unknown terrain at a depth of more than 3,700 metres at the heart of the South China Sea. Before resurfacing, they planted a Chinese flag on the ocean floor.
The official announcement did not pin down the location, but Professor Zhao Junhai, a key designer of the submarine, said it was southeast of Hainan Island , between China and the Philippines.
'We were inspired by the Russians, who put a flag on the floor of the North Pole with their MIR [deep sea submarine],' said Zhao, an engineer at the China Ship Scientific Research Centre, who designed the hull of the submarine. 'It might provoke some countries, but we'll be all right. The South China Sea belongs to China. Let's see who dares to challenge that.'
China appears increasingly determined to exert its dominance over the resource-rich and strategically important waters, which are also claimed by a number of neighbours.
The submarine's name reflects the trend. When the project was launched in 2002 the submarine was called Ocean Base One. Later it changed to Harmony to echo the leadership's 'harmonious society' slogan. Now it is called Sea Dragon.