Mysterious Chinese surveillance drone pulled from waters by fishermen near tourist island

Oliver Partridge
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 20:45:42 +0000

Indonesian military officials are examining a mysterious underwater surveillance device, believed to be from China, after a local fisherman pulled the object from the sea near a popular tourist destination.

The torpedo-shaped apparatus recovered from Gili Trawangan measures approximately 12 feet in length, and was caught in fishing nets in waters close to strategically significant shipping lanes off Lombok's coast.

Images circulating in Indonesian media indicate the device bears characteristics consistent with unmanned underwater drones, previously discovered in other sensitive maritime locations across the region.

Rear Admiral Tunggul, speaking on behalf of the Indonesian Navy, confirmed that experts are conducting a technical assessment to determine the drone's purpose and retrieve any stored information.

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The Lombok Strait, separating Lombok from Bali, represents a crucial maritime passage with sufficient depth to accommodate military submarines.

The waterway serves as a vital link between Southeast Asian seas and the ocean approaches to Australia.

Military analysts consider the strait a potentially contested chokepoint, should armed conflict erupt between China and American allies in the region.

The discovery of the surveillance device in these waters has heightened concerns about Beijing's apparent campaign to chart submarine transit routes through strategically valuable channels.

Such underwater mapping efforts could provide Chinese naval forces with critical navigational intelligence for future submarine operations in the area.

Photographs of the recovered device reveal markings from the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, alongside Chinese text identifying a research institute.

The CSIC logo suggests the drone originated from one of China's major state-owned defence and shipbuilding conglomerates.

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Indonesian authorities have not yet determined whether the apparatus was deployed for civilian or military purposes.

However, experts note that regardless of its official designation, oceanographic data gathered by such devices about seabed conditions could prove valuable to Chinese naval planners.

Information concerning underwater terrain and acoustic properties would assist submarine commanders in navigating these strategically important waters undetected.

The Philippines has reported recovering five comparable Chinese underwater drones since 2022, each discovered entangled in fishermen's nets across strategic maritime zones.

Philippine naval authorities examined SIM cards extracted from the captured devices to analyse their data collection activities.

"The information gathered focuses on mathematical data," said Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a Philippine Navy spokesman.

"It also collects information on sound propagation underwater. All of this information has uses commercially for scientific research, academic purposes, but they have also dual use for military use".

The combined recoveries across multiple Southeast Asian nations suggest a systematic Chinese effort to survey submarine-accessible waterways throughout the region.