China has entered a new era of ocean exploration. Its top leader, Xi Jinping, has pushed to make China a maritime power — with a world-class navy, the largest deep-sea fishing fleet, and an interest in extracting minerals from the seabed. He wants China’s research abilities to match those ambitions.

中国已进入海洋探索的新时代。中国最高领导人习近平致力于将中国打造为一个海洋强国——建设世界一流海军、打造规模最大的远洋捕捞船队、开发海底矿产资源。习近平想让中国的研究能力与这些雄心匹配。

China’s scientific research ships are ranging farther and probing deeper, gathering information that could expand understanding of marine life and the impact of climate change. But their findings could also serve China’s naval interests, including how it might deploy its submarines in the Pacific or try to track stealthier American ones.

中国的科考船正航行得越来越远，探测得越来越深，收集可能会对海洋生物及气候变化的影响加深了解的信息。但科考调查也可能服务于中国海军的利益，让海军获得如何在太平洋部署潜艇，或试图跟踪更隐蔽的美国潜艇的信息。

Over time, the growing research fleet could give Beijing a powerful advantage in maritime competition with the United States.

随着时间的推移，不断壮大的科考船队可能会让中国政府在与美国展开海上竞争时拥有强大的优势。

“It is striking to see the rapidity with which China is catching up, at least in terms of scale,” said Bruce Jones, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who is studying China’s ocean research effort. China, he added, is “really making a play for the deep seabed as a kind of strategic space where they can lead.”

“看到中国正在如此之快地赶上来令人震惊，至少从规模上来看，”布鲁金斯学会的高级研究员布鲁斯·琼斯说，他正在研究中国的海洋研究工作。他补充道，中国“确实在将深海海底视为一种战略空间，力图在其中取得领先地位”。

中国“向阳红06”科考船。

The ships have been studying waters that China’s navy considers strategically vital, including off Taiwan’s east coast and about 250 miles east and west of Guam, according to ship position data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence, a company with offices in New Zealand and Washington.

根据在新西兰和华盛顿设有办公室的Starboard Maritime Intelligence提供的船舶定位数据，中国科考船一直在对中国海军认为具有战略意义的水域进行勘测，包括台湾以东水域，以及关岛东西海岸以外约400公里的水域。

The ships made passes in parallel lines or in a tight grid, precise patterns that experts said suggested a methodical effort to collect information about the seabed that could, among other things, support military operations.

这些科考船以平行线或密集的网格路线航行，专家们指出，这种精确航行模式表明，它们在有条理地收集有关海床的信息，这些信息的用途包括为军事行动提供支持。

The New York Times identified these and other trends by looking at the Starboard data and reviewing dozens of technical reports and studies by scientists aboard the ships.

《纽约时报》通过查看Starboard的数据以及阅读这些科考船上的科学家发表的数十份技术报告和研究报告，发现了上述趋势和其他一些动向。

The Xiang Yang Hong 6, which is equipped with sonar and deep-sea sampling equipment, and five other Chinese research ships made 25 passes in parallel lines through the waters off Taiwan’s east coast last year, the Starboard data showed. During the same period, Chinese vessels also traveled far from home to survey the waters around Guam, and resumed work east of the U.S. territory as recently as last month.

Starboard的数据显示，“向阳红06”和其他五艘中国科考船去年在台湾东海岸附近的海域以平行线的方式来回航行了25次，这些船上配有声纳和深海采样设备。在同一个时期，中国的科考船还前往远离本土的关岛周边海域进行探测，并最近在上个月恢复了对美国属地关岛以东水域的探测工作。

Some of the research ships, such as the Tansuo No. 1, carry manned submersibles that Chinese media reports say can travel as deep as six miles below the surface. Many are equipped with advanced sonar to scan the ocean floor, along with buoys that transmit data about sea conditions. China is also deploying sea drones and underwater gliders from some ships.

部分中国科考船（如“探索一号”）搭载了载人潜水器，据中国媒体报道，这种潜水器可下潜到海底1万米。许多科考船配备了用于对海底进行扫描的先进声纳，还配有传输海况数据的浮标。中国还在部分科考船上部署了无人帆船和水下滑翔机。

China, like other big seagoing countries, operates military ships that conduct ocean surveys. But most of its research ships are civilian, run by government agencies, universities and institutes, which attract less scrutiny than navy ships, allowing China to operate more freely in sensitive waters.

和其他航海大国一样，中国也用军舰开展海洋调查。但中国的大多数科考船是民用性质，由政府机构、大学和科研机构运行，与海军舰艇相比，这些民用船只较少引发警惕，让中国能在敏感水域更自由地行动。

“探索一号”具备深海探测能力。

Surveying the Front Line of a Potential Conflict

对潜在冲突的前线地带进行测绘

Last February, a Chinese research ship named the Da Yang Hao sailed along Taiwan’s east coast, tracing a series of parallel lines over five days.

去年2月，一艘船名为“大洋号”的中国科考船沿台湾东海岸展开作业，其五天的航行图是一系列平行线。

In the months that followed, five other Chinese research ships, including the Xiang Yang Hong 6, returned to the area, following similar routes. They often moved at slow speeds, typically 8 to 10 miles an hour, ideal for mapping undersea features using sonar and other techniques, a science known as bathymetry.

在接下来的几个月里，包括“向阳红06”在内的另外五艘中国科考船回到同一水域，以类似的航线在该海域来回航行。它们的航行速度通常很慢，一般是每小时13到16公里，这是用声纳和其他技术测绘海底特征的理想速度，这种工作在科学上叫测深。

Some ships edged close to Taiwan’s 12-nautical-mile territorial sea boundary, but did not appear to cross the line, meaning the Taiwanese government could do little to object.

一些中国科考船曾逼近台湾的12海里海上边界，但似乎没有越界行为，这意味着台湾政府几乎不可能对其做法表示反对。

But the potential military payoff from their research seemed clear.

然而，相关科研活动的潜在军事价值显而易见。

“The big takeaway for me is: It appears that China is trying to collect bathymetric data on that part of the ocean without appearing like it is conducting a bathymetric survey,” said Ryan D. Martinson, an assistant professor and expert on Chinese research ships at the U.S. Naval War College, who was speaking in a personal capacity.

“在我看来，最主要的结论是：中国似乎正试图收集该海域的测深数据，但又刻意掩饰测绘意图，”美国海军战争学院的助理教授瑞安·D·马丁森以个人身份发表评论说，他是研究中国科考船的专家。

Taiwan’s eastern coast is home to key air and naval bases, and if war broke out, the Chinese navy would try to seize control of the nearby seas.

台湾的东海岸有重要的空军和海军基地，如果爆发战争，中国海军会试图夺取附近海域的控制权。

That area of the Pacific is shaped by the Kuroshio Current, which brings relatively warm, salty waters from the Equator northward, along Taiwan’s east coast. Off northeast Taiwan, the current meets a steep underwater shelf, creating conditions that complicate submarine navigation, several experts said. Chinese military researchers wrote in a study in 2010 that understanding the current would help China “better conceal ourselves and attack our enemies.”

太平洋的这个区域受黑潮的影响，它将相对温度高、盐度高的海水从赤道向北输送，沿台湾东海岸流动。多位专家指出，在台湾东北海域，黑潮与陡峭的海底陆坡相遇，形成了阻碍潜艇航行的复杂水文环境。中国的军事研究人员在2010年的一篇论文中写道，了解黑潮将有助于中国“更好地隐蔽自己、打击敌人”。

J. Michael Dahm, a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer who is now a lecturer at George Washington University, described deep waters as “almost like a parfait dessert” in which temperature and salinity vary by layers, affecting how sound moves through the water.

按照前美国海军情报官、现任乔治·华盛顿大学讲师的J.迈克尔·达姆的说法，深海环境“几乎就像是一杯芭菲（一种法式甜点——译注）”，海水温度与盐度呈分层变化，影响声波在水中的传播方式。

“Having all of that data might help tell you that this is a good place for a submarine to hide or this is a bad place for a submarine,” Mr. Dahm said.

“掌握这些数据能判断哪个海域适合潜艇藏身，哪个海域不适合，”达姆解释道。

The information collected could also help China decide where to lay undersea mines and make steps toward a longer term goal of “detecting submarines at a distance,” said Tom Stefanick, a submarine expert at the Brookings Institution. Officials in Taiwan have reported finding Chinese monitoring buoys off the island’s east coast, devices that may be part of an effort to gather useful information.

布鲁金斯学会潜艇专家汤姆·斯特凡尼克表示，这些勘测数据还可以帮助中国决定在哪里部署水雷，并朝着“远距离探测潜艇”的长期目标迈进。台湾当局曾报告在东部海域发现中国的监测浮标，此类设备可能也是情报收集体系的组成部分。

Surveying Near Guam, a U.S. Military Hub

在美军枢纽关岛附近展开勘测

Starting early last year, Chinese ships began surveying the seas near Guam, which hosts American bombers, submarines, marines and radar systems. The Xiang Yang Hong 6 and other ships sailed back and forth, creating a dense grid of lines a mile apart.

去年初以来，中国科考船开始在关岛附近海域开展勘测活动。美军在关岛部署了轰炸机、潜艇、海军陆战队及雷达系统。“向阳红06”号等中国科考船在该海域来回航行，以约1.6公里为间隔绘制出密集的勘测网格线。

”The tracks are so tightly packed, and all this was done in one year. Clearly, they were doing a bathymetric survey,” said Sen Jan, a professor of oceanography at National Taiwan University, referring to the mapping of the seafloor.

台湾大学海洋学教授詹森指出：“如此密集的航迹均在一年内完成，显然他们是在进行水深测量。”

One possible reason for the surveys off Guam is mineral exploration. A Chinese ocean mining association has registered with the International Seabed Authority to search some areas east of Guam. But the waters west of Guam where Chinese ships surveyed “are not considered priority areas for mineral exploration. So these surveys may have been conducted for other purposes,” said Christopher Kelley, a retired marine researcher at the University of Hawaii.

在关岛附近进行作业的一个可能原因是矿产勘探。中国的一个海洋矿业组织已向国际海底管理局申请勘探关岛以东的一些区域。夏威夷大学退休的海洋研究员克里斯托弗·凯利分析，中国船只在关岛以西的勘测水域“并不被视为矿产勘探的优先区域，因此，这些调查可能有其他目的”。

Several naval experts said surveys off Guam would also help the Chinese military better navigate the area with submarines. The Chinese research ships could also help locate American undersea cables and submarine detection technology, said Bryan Clark, a former U.S. Navy submarine officer who is now a senior fellow at Hudson Institute.

数名海军专家表示，关岛海域的测绘将提升中国潜艇在该区域的作战能力。哈德逊研究所高级研究员、前美国海军潜艇军官布莱恩·克拉克指出，中国科考船还可能借此定位美国海底电缆及潜艇探测技术。

“You can see how the Chinese might be trying to find locations where they can send out their submarines before conflict and have them hide out,” Mr. Clark said. From there, he added, they may be able to “pop up and attack U.S. forces or hold U.S. forces at risk.”

“你可以看出中国人可能正在试图找到合适的地点，在冲突发生前派潜艇在那里潜伏起来，”克拉克说。他还表示，这些潜艇可以“突然出现并发起攻击，或者使美军面临危险。”

Growing Regional Worries

日益增长的区域担忧

Under international law, civilian research ships are allowed to operate in international waters, and even in other countries’ exclusive economic zones, provided they seek permission.

根据国际法，民用科考船可在国际水域，甚至在他国的专属经济区活动，前提是它们获得许可。

But China’s growing use of these scientific ships has raised alarm throughout the Asia-Pacific region. (Beijing, for its part, has bristled at U.S. Navy-operated ocean surveillance ships near the Chinese coast.)

但中国日益频繁派遣此类科考船的行为已在整个亚太地区引起了警惕。（中方亦曾对美国海军在中国近海的海洋监测船活动表示不满。）

“China’s expanding maritime reach deserves close scrutiny, especially its ‘research’ vessels that map seabeds, deploy sensors and pave the way for submarine operations,” Jennifer Parker, a former Australian naval officer who is now an expert associate at the National Security College of Australian National University, wrote in an email. But, she added, “each voyage must be judged on evidence.”

澳大利亚国立大学国家安全学院专家助理、前澳海军军官詹妮弗·帕克在邮件中指出：“中国不断扩张的海上活动值得密切关注，尤其是那些测绘海床、部署传感器、为潜艇行动铺路的‘科考'船。”不过她也补充道：“每次航行都需依据证据来判断。”

In May, the Philippines sent a coast guard ship and an aircraft to track a Chinese research ship that Manila said was illegally operating in the Philippines’s exclusive economic zone. In March, a Chinese research ship sailing off southern Australia drew the government’s attention. Vietnam has also protested Chinese marine survey activities inside its exclusive economic zone.

今年5月，菲律宾出动一艘海岸警卫队船只和一架飞机追踪一艘中国科考船，马尼拉称其在菲律宾专属经济区内非法作业。今年3月，一艘在澳大利亚南部海岸附近航行的中国科考船引起了澳政府的关注。越南也对中国在其专属经济区内进行的海洋勘测活动提出抗议。

“It’s hard for us to view this situation as normal,” Kuan Bi-ling, the minister of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, said in an interview, referring to China’s research ships and ocean monitoring equipment near Taiwan.

“我们都认为很难以很正常的眼光来看待，”台湾海洋委员会主任委员管碧玲接受采访时表示。她指的是中国在台湾周边海域部署的科考船及海洋监测设备。

Despite the concerns, China’s research efforts continue. Last month, the Xiang Yang Hong 1 and Xiang Yang Hong 5 arrived in seas east of Guam and resumed moving in grid-like patterns, methodically scanning what lies beneath.

尽管存在担忧，中国的科考活动仍在持续。上月，“向阳红1”与“向阳红5”抵达关岛以东海域，恢复了网格状移动，系统扫描海底情况。