China is constructing an underwater surveillance grid in the contested South China Sea, financial magazine Forbes reported Thursday.
The system comprises unmanned floating platforms with radars and sensor turrets as well as underwater sonars. While similar platforms have been deployed in China's own waters, some are located in the international part of the strategic waterway.
The sonars are set up in unknown locations and cannot be spotted from ships passing by. It also creates a strategic advantage for China as it spats with smaller nearby states over maritime borders in the waterway where trillions of dollars in goods pass annually.
