A recent research from Chinese military scientists outlines a plan to turn the perilous underwater terrain around the Paracel Islands into a highly strategic submarine kill zone.

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Technical Acoustics by researchers at the People's Liberation Army Dalian Naval Academy and Harbin Engineering University (HEU) details how the region's rugged seamounts, referred to as "acoustic shadow zones", could be leveraged to allow intelligent mines to avoid detection and selectively target enemy vessels, creating a lethal trap for adversary submarines.

Historically used by Chinese fishermen since the Tang and Song dynasties, the islands now host a heavy military presence. The PLA has built an airfield, deep-water port, radar systems, and permanent garrisons, turning the Paracels into a strategic hub for operations across the South China Sea.

Beijing has controlled the Paracel Islands since 1974, though both Taipei and Hanoi continue to claim them. Known as the Xisha Islands in China and Hoang Sa Islands in Vietnam, the chain of reefs and atolls lies about 300 nautical miles south of the Chinese mainland and has long been a regional flashpoint.

The US conducts regular freedom of navigation operations in the region, frequently deploying submarines and surface vessels near Chinese-held reefs to challenge Beijing's dominance and demonstrate its commitment to keeping sea lanes open in the South China Sea.

Now, researchers argue that China's underwater weapons could exploit sonar dead zones near submerged mountain peaks and leeward slopes, where sound waves scatter or disappear due to complex undersea terrain. Thus, these areas provide ideal hiding spots that could challenge US undersea dominance.

The team, led by HEU associate professor Ma Benjun, which was involved in building China's first submarine, notes that analyzing optimal deployment sites can improve concealment, making deployed assets much harder to detect. Such strategies could give China a significant tactical advantage in future undersea operations, the South China Morning Post reported.

While the area remains under heavy Chinese control, it is still fiercely contested. Vietnam maintains outposts on nearby islands, and the Philippines, Malaysia, and other nations assert overlapping claims.

However, Chinese researchers suggest that AI-powered, long-endurance mines placed in acoustic blind zones around seamounts could form a covert defensive network for the PLA.

Equipped with acoustic, magnetic, and optical sensors, they can autonomously identify vessels by their unique signatures and strike only pre-approved targets, such as US submarines or carrier strike groups, creating a highly selective and lethal underwater defense system.

Using high-resolution bathymetric maps from its deep-sea sonar surveys, along with real-time oceanographic data on temperature, salinity, and currents collected by buoys and research vessels, the PLA has built detailed models of acoustic propagation. If successful, such a system could challenge US undersea dominance, long maintained through its fleet of ultra-quiet nuclear submarines, including Seawolf and Virginia-class vessels.