Australia expedites purchase of ‘potent and powerful’ sea mines to deter China in pacific

Australia is making a massive investment in sea mines, spending up to $1 billion on high-tech underwater weapons to deter potential adversaries from sending vessels like ships and submarines into the nation's waters. This will make it the country's first big investment in sea mines since the Vietnam war and it is reportedly targeted at China which has shown interest in expanding its influence in the Pacific Ocean.

Sea mines are self-contained explosive devices that can be placed in key strategic choke points, such as straits and harbours, to blow up encroaching enemy naval vessels. The weapons have been used in virtually every maritime conflict since the 14th century, but fell out of favour with Western naval leaders in recent decades, including in Australia, reported The Sydney Morning Herald. China has built up a stockpile of up to 1,00,000 sea mines as part of its massive military expansion.

The so-called smart sea mines are designed to differentiate between military targets and other types of ships, a defense department spokesperson said in a statement. "Australia is accelerating the acquisition of smart sea mines, which will help to secure sea lines of communication and protect Australia's maritime approaches," it said. "A modern sea mining capability is a significant deterrent to potential aggressors."

The Australian newspaper cited a defence industry source, saying that the federal government would soon announce it had signed a contract to purchase a substantial number of sea mines from a European weapons supplier. The intention is to procure a sophisticated form of "multi-influence ground mines that react to acoustic, magnetic and pressure influences of passing vessels". They can be laid on the ocean floor by ship, submarine or from the air, as per the report. Italy and Spain are two of Europe’s leading sea mine manufacturers.

The mines can be remote controlled: Report

According to the report, Australia will buy mines that can be remotely activated and deactivated once laid, allowing friendly commercial and naval vessels to pass safely. In August, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that his country should purchase enough lethal weapons to prevent an enemy attack. In January, the Australian government said that it would spend up to $2 billion to strengthen its missile capability.