“First, on 6 April, fishers found a 3.7-metre, torpedo-shaped device north of Gili Trawangan in the Lombok Strait. It bore the logo of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation.”
“A little over a week later, other fishers recovered a blue, elongated object near the Tanakeke Islands off South Sulawesi, between the Lombok and Makassar straits. And on 20 April a yellow torpedo-shaped device roughly two metres long was found off Kangean Island, just north of the Lombok Strait.”
“The significance of these discoveries lies in their location and recurrence. All were found in or near Indonesia’s Archipelagic Sea Lane II, the corridor connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans through the Makassar and Lombok straits.”
“There were earlier finds, too: a Chinese Sea Wing underwater glider was recovered near the Masalembu Islands in January 2020, a little west of the direct line between the straits, and another near Selayar Island to the east of the line in December of that year…”
“The broader implication is nonetheless hard to miss: these waters are strategically significant far beyond their commercial function. Indeed, the Lombok Strait’s depth of more than 250 metres makes it one of the few passages in the region suitable for submerged transit. The Makassar Strait extends that route northwards towards the Celebes Sea and the Western Pacific with sufficient depth for underwater transit. Together, these straits provide a viable deep-water corridor for submerged movement between the Indian and Pacific oceans.”