Strong winds and high sea waves forced the SOA to call off the test, during which the submersible was scheduled to reach a depth of 5,000 meters on Friday morning, said Liu Feng, the mission's commander-in-chief.

The conditions are expected to remain rough in the coming three days and the SOA work team is waiting for a suitable time, said Liu.

Jiaolong made a test Thursday morning, when it carried three people to a depth of 4,027 meters in an international area of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The submersible completed 17 dives in the South China Sea between May 31 and July 18 last year, reaching 3,759 meters during its deepest dive.

Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011