TIL Desk/World/Beijing/ China is planning to launch satellites from its southern Hainan province to assist round- the-clock remote sensing coverage over the South China Sea as Beijing seeks to cement its hold on the disputed area. The Sanya Institute of Remote Sensing said it would launch three optical satellites next year.
It will add another three optical satellites, two hyperspectral satellites and two Synthetic Aperture Radar satellites to complete the Satellite Constellation Programme by 2021, for conducting round-the-clock remote-sensing over the tropical sea area.
Yang Tianliang, director of the institute, said the network was calculated to broadly cover the area between 30 degrees north and south of the equator.Yang said the programme would provide scientific support for China’s initiative of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and emergency response efforts at sea.
China claims sovereignty on almost of the South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bureni and Taiwan have counter claims. China has already firmed up its hold over the area by building military installations in the reclaimed islands.
