China's New Nuclear-Armed Submarine Fleet Could Upset The Balance Of Power In Asia
POOL New/REUTERS
Page reports that China has made significant progress in developing a sea-based nuclear deterrent - a group of nuclear-armed long-range subs that's nearly ready for deployment.
Today, China has one of the largest fleets of attack submarines in the world. Beijing can lay claim to six nuclear-powered attack vessels alongside an estimated 53 diesel-powered subs.
China also currently has three nuclear ballistic "boomer" submarines, according to the US Office of Naval Intelligence. These subs can stay at sea for long stretches time, making them a strategically crucial part of a country's nuclear deterrent.
Whereas nuclear-powered attack submarines can undertake multi-week missions at sea, their diesel counterparts are limited in range and must surface more regularly. This limits the utility of these attack vessels to a more defensive role along China's border and within the East and South China Seas.
However, it is the boomer submarines that can send a message to the US and flip the balance of power in the Pacific.
According to the WSJ, the boomers' missiles are capable of hitting Hawaii and Alaska from the coast of China, while from the mid-Pacific the vessels could target the continental US.
Chinese boomers can also be outfitted with nuclear ballistic weaponry. It's a possible replay of the Cold War dynamic in which boomers served a seaborne nuclear deterrent for the US and the USSR. This was an important element of the rival powers' nuclear architecture: hard-to-detect sea-faring submarines can launch an attack even if a country's land-based military facilities are wiped out in a nuclear first strike.
China's leaders clearly realizes the importance of an under-sea missile capability. According to a commentary that China's navy chief Admiral Wu Senghli wrote in a Communist Party magazine, the boomers are "a trump card that makes our motherland proud and our adversaries terrified. It is a strategic force symbolizing great-power status and supporting national security."
For Vice Amd. Robert Thomas, the commander of the US Seventh Fleet, the boomers and China's nuclear attack submarines convey a clear message to Beijing's potential rivals.
Thomas told the WSJ that the vessels "say that, 'We're a professional navy, we're a professional submarine force, and we're global. We're no longer just a coastal-water submarine force."
Reuters
In the East China Sea, China and Japan both lay claim to the Senkaku Islands. Although the island chain is uninhabited, the region is thought to have large natural gas reserves and plentiful fisheries. The islands are administered by Japan, and China has recently began allowing large numbers of fisherman to go to the islands in an attempt to achieve de facto control over the area.
In the South China Sea, China has pushed its maritime boundaries into areas in contention with Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. This contention has already led to confrontations between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The US is treaty-bound to defend Japan and the Philippines if either country is attacked. Any maritime confrontation thus has the potential - however vague, at the moment - to trigger a wider conflict between China and the US. A Chinese military professor has even warned that these maritime disputes could potentially lead to the next world war.
As it is, any maritime conflict could lead to the US having to choose between abandoning the defensive treaties that formed the backbone of American strategy in Asia, or risking a larger confrontation with China's ever-growing military.
China's new submarines are a continuation of China's attempts to match their military capabilities to the US's. But it isn't the only area where the two are competing. China and the US are locked in an arms race in development of hypersonic missiles and the world's first aircraft carrier-borne stealth jets. And China is trying to build up its first air craft carrier group, although it's had some technical difficulties so far.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- Saudi Arabia wants China to help fund its struggling $500 billion Neom megaproject. Investors may not be too excited.
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- Catan adds climate change to the latest edition of the world-famous board game
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- Tired of blatant misinformation in the media? This video game can help you and your family fight fake news!
- JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more
- Indian Army unveils selfie point at Hombotingla Pass ahead of 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market