Two lighthouses in Spratlys solidify China’s territorial stake

Huayang Lighthouse. (Photo/Xinhua)

 

China’s Ministry of Transport held a completion ceremony for the construction of the Huayang and Chigua Lighthouses on Huayang Reef, built on disputed Nansha (Spratly) island territory. The ceremony has marked the start of the operation of the two lighthouses.

The two lighthouses, as the first civil aids to navigation in Nansha waters, will greatly improve navigational conditions and reduce navigational risks and accidents by providing route guidance, safety information and emergency rescue and other public services to passing vessels, according to an official government statement.

Pentagon Testing Drones That Can Launch from Ocean Floor

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is testing a drone that can hibernate on the ocean floor for years at a time before being launched to the surface and into the air at the push of a button.

Dubbed Upward Falling Payloads (UFP) program, the project was detailed in a biennial report released last week by DARPA, a US Department of Defense agency.

According to DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar, the Agency is trying to approach military technology needs with a new perspective, after having focused primarily on assets for ground wars in the past 14 years. The UFP program will therefore be one of several other research projects DARPA will focus on as a means of revolutionizing the US Military’s maritime strategy.