Chinese state media have hailed the country's new homemade drilling ship, touted as the deepest drilling ship of its kind, as a win for Beijing's national security designs maritime power.
The vessel on December 26 completed its eight-day, 575-mile trial voyage, in the Pearl River Estuary south of the southern province of Guangdong.
Under President Xi Jinping China's "comprehensive national security" agenda now includes 16 "security arenas" that are "firmly embedded in political and public communication, education and scholarly discourse," Berlin-based research institute Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) wrote in a 2022 report.
The vessel boasts the world's "largest and most comprehensive onboard laboratory," CTGN wrote, adding that the ship will make strides in exploration and exploitation of marine energy resources, national energy security, and maritime power construction, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.
Mercator said this security-oriented posture, fueled by perceived domestic and international threats to Chinese Communist Party rule, was a shift from the country's previous "development first model."
"National security is now promoted as a cross-disciplinary field of study, with new specialized research centers, programs and funds."
Among these 16 national security domains, one of the most recently added is maritime security. "Promoting the security of China's overseas interests is the last piece of the puzzle," MERICS said.
Built by the Ministry of Natural Resources' China Geological Survey, Mengxiang measures 590 feet long and 108 feet wide, displaces about 36,000 tons, and can voyage over 17,000 miles without replenishment.
These labs, which total over 32,000 square feet, will support research across nine fields including marine science and microbiology.
Most notable, however, is Mengxiang's alleged ability to drill nearly seven miles below sea level—through Earth's crust and into the upper part of the scorching-hot mantle.
China believes the ship can help make it more energy independent by exploring deep-sea natural gas resources like methane hydrates, also known as "flammable ice"—which has been touted as promising future energy sources, CTGN wrote.
The outlet cited China Geological Survey Director Li Jinfa as saying the "Dream" is so-named because it represents the Chinese people's dream to become a maritime power, the dream of scientists worldwide to pierce the upper mantle," and humanity's dream to exploit the resources deep within the earth.
The mantle, which comprises 84 percent of the planet's volume, could also provide scientists with a wealth of new insights into the geological development of the planet, including the formation of tectonics.
Though past ultra-deep drilling efforts stopped short of reaching the mantle itself, last summer, researchers aboard the drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution took advantage of a "tectonic window" in which bits of mantle had been pushed upward. The mantle rock cores they extricated shook the earth sciences community.
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Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
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