China deploys hundred of satellites to keep watch over Malabar Exercise in Australia

New Delhi: China has deployed a swarm of surveillance satellites to oversee two significant military training operations involving the United States and Australia, Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. During the recently concluded Exercise Talisman Sabre, China is said to have deployed hundreds of its satellites over Australia to gather intelligence.

Among these satellites was China’s Shiyan 12-01, manoeuvring strategically beneath the equator to observe the joint war games between the US and Australia. Additionally, satellites like Shijian-17 and Shijian-23 were observed moving eastward to cover various zones where the military exercises took place.

In addition to monitoring Exercise Talisman Sabre, China’s surveillance satellites are also tracking the ongoing Exercise Malabar, a naval training program.

Over 300 satellites are reportedly engaged in monitoring these activities, accumulating a total of more than 3,000 flight hours since the commencement of Exercise Malabar on August 10.

According to James Bennett, an official from EOS Space Systems, who spoke with ABC, there is a significant ground surveying activity by China. “We’ve been collecting optical surveillance data on Earth observing Chinese satellites during the Talisman Sabre and Malabar exercises and what that’s showing is quite a lot of activity surveying the ground during those events,” Bennett told ABC News.

China's reported recent surge in satellite-based espionage signifies its expanding influence in space. Just this month, China successfully launched its maiden geosynchronous orbit synthetic aperture radar satellite, further cementing its position in space technology.

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