Are commercial sea drones a new headache for PLA in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait?

Commercial sea drones, such as Seasats' Lightfish drone, have emerged as a potential new challenge for the PLA (People's Liberation Army Navy) in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. Last week, the drone was seen operating near a Chinese Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, 105km northwest of Luzon, the largest Philippine island. Ray Powell, director of Stanford University's SeaLight Foundation, noted that the key issue is the ability of commercial platforms to perform such tasks inexpensively.

The Chinese foreign ministry stated that the incident complied with international law, urging "relevant parties" to avoid approaching Chinese naval vessels at close range. Seasats has previously documented Chinese warships passing through the Taiwan Strait, stating that autonomous vessels could help Taiwan monitor and defend its waters.

These drones could be used for maritime intelligence gathering, combining hardware, software, and operational support. While Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory, most countries do not recognize Taiwan's independence. The proliferation of commercially operated vessels in contested sea lanes poses an operational challenge for warships, as they can be harder to classify and detect.

This creates a grey-zone problem, making it difficult to determine the intentions behind these platforms.