Dual-Use Seabed Mapping: China’s Oceanographic Survey Fleet and the U.S. Undersea Advantage in the Western Pacific

 

Phillip Johnson

July 15, 2026

 

Over the course of two months, the National Security Policy Center’s 2026 summer intern cohort conducted research on critical national security issues on behalf of UVA’s National Security Data and Policy Institute (NSDPI). The group’s work culminated in individual white papers on topics approved by NSDPI supervisors. Undergraduate researcher Phillip Johnson’s white paper, “Dual-Use Seabed Mapping: China’s Oceanographic Survey Fleet and the U.S. Undersea Advantage in the Western Pacific,” evaluates the impacts of Chinese seabed mapping on the United States’ undersea advantage, submarine operations, and deterrence efforts.

 

Executive Summary

Based on AIS data, China’s National Oceanographic Survey Fleet conducts extensive seabed mapping within the First Island Chain and within and just beyond the Second Island Chain. Vessel funding, management, and behavior indicate that this mapping supports both undersea military objectives and civilian scientific ones. Regarding undersea military capabilities, this data advances two aims: improving the effectiveness of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities against U.S. submarines and enabling the PLAN’s future expansion beyond the First Island Chain through enhanced undersea navigation and domain awareness. In a highly contested region with significant potential for crisis and conflict, these developments erode the United States’ asymmetric undersea advantage, constrain submarine operations, and diminish the credibility of conventional deterrence.

 

Research Placemat

Dual-Use Seabed Mapping: China’s Oceanographic Survey Fleet and the U.S. Undersea Advantage in the Western Pacific

 

White Paper

Dual-Use Seabed Mapping: China’s Oceanographic Survey Fleet and the U.S. Undersea Advantage in the Western Pacific