Sébastien Le Belzic (in Beijing) / Photo credit: YANG GUANYU / XINHUA / XINHUA VIA AFP 06:15, May 31, 2023

In China, archaeologists this month launched an exceptional operation to recover relics - mainly porcelain dating back to the Ming dynasty - contained in two wrecks sunk 1,500 meters deep. There are reportedly nearly 100,000 pieces of almost intact dishes asleep at the bottom of the China Sea.

Called "warrior of the deep seas", the small bathyscaphe, an underwater exploration craft, meticulously goes back one by one the porcelains whose blue and white color is characteristic of this time. In total, this sunken treasure contains 100,000 pieces of almost intact dishes dating from the Ming dynasty, in the 16th century, and which until then slept at a depth of 1,500 meters. Knowing that a single Ming vase has sold for up to 16 million euros at auction, the curious can easily imagine the value that lies in the great depths of the China Sea.

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Such a geopolitical treasure

"Through the study of manufacturing techniques, we can not only learn more about the level of development of the shipbuilding industry at that time, but also reflect socio-economic conditions," said Chen Wei, one of the site's archaeologists.

This technological feat is not devoid of geopolitical ulterior motives. It is also for China to show that it was ahead in maritime trade and had long mastered these waters now disputed by several neighboring countries of China such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.