Snooping in Indonesian waters? Chinese 'spy sensor' found in strategic waterway away from India-monitored Malacca Straits

The discovery of a Chinese undersea monitoring device in the strategic Lombok Straits, in Indonesian waters, has once raised concerns over China’s designs in the region. The device a 3.7-metre-long, torpedo-shaped underwater system, greatly enhances China’s snooping capability in the critical waterway. The device has been linked to China’s 710 Research Institute, which is known to be working on undersea military systems, as per an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report.

The moored device, said to be recovered by an Indonesian fisherman, is capable of mapping depths and monitoring currents and temperature in the water body. The device is also capable of gathering acoustic signals, which means that the device has the potential to track passing submarines. It sent the signals back to China via a buoy, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Gateway between Indian and Pacific Oceans

Lombok Strait’s importance has been growing for China, as it can use this important waterway as an alternative to the Malacca Strait. More importantly, the Malacca Strait is a shallow and narrow water body; it is less than three km wide at its narrowest point and is less than 25 meters deep at its shallowest point. On the other hand, Lombok is 18 km wide at its narrowest point and is 250 meters deep at its shallowest point and 1,400 feet deep at its maximum point. This would allow a submarine to traverse through the strait without surfacing. The same is true for larger ships with deep drafts, which also prefer to use the Lombok, which is 1,800 km southeast of the Malacca Strait.

This change in interest for China is particularly worrying for India as India’s strategy revolves around the Malacca Strait, the narrowest point of which is 1,250 km away from Great Nicobar Island, while the entrance and exit to this important waterway is much closer. At the same time the Lombok Strait is 3,000 km away from the Great Nicobar Island.

The discovery of this sensor reflects China’s use of such systems to chart this passage in the waters of another country. At the same time, it will not be easy for India to monitor the Lombok Strait as easily and may have to depend on QUAD partner Australia to monitor this choke point.