VietWill - Defending Vietnamese lives and borders in the South China Sea - U.S., China expanding N-sub fleets Deployment of Jin-class sub at Hainan Island sparks U.S. funding

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U.S., China expanding N-sub fleets Deployment of Jin-class sub at Hainan Island sparks U.S. funding

By Yoshinari Kurose
Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan
5 June 2008

WASHINGTON--The U.S. government has begun strengthening its submarine fleets to counter China's growing buildup of naval forces in the Pacific Ocean, partly because of the recent discovery of a Chinese submarine base at Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

The base for nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missile capabilities is located near an important sea lane for maritime traffic in Southeast Asia.

An increasing number of military experts predict that competition between the United States and China will intensify over their respective influence in the Pacific region.

On May 14, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services approved an additional fiscal 2009 budget of 722 million dollars (about 75 billion yen) for the building of Virginia-class nuclear attack submarines.

The latest Virginia-class submarine is the successor to the Los Angeles-class vessel, which is the current mainstay of the U.S. submarine fleet. Since 2004, four Virginia-class submarines have gone into service.

The U.S. government initially planned to build one Virginia-class submarine each year in 2010 and 2011. The additional budget will double the number of subs to be built.

The United States believes it is important to counter the growing potential threat of China's growing number of submarines in the Pacific.

In April, it was revealed that a Jin-class nuclear submarine with ballistic missile capabilities had been deployed at Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island. Jin-class subs are China's key strategic nuclear-powered vessel.

The deployment was announced by the Federation of American Scientists, a private U.S. research institute, based on satellite photos taken by DigitalGlobe Inc. in February.

A Jin-class submarine is capable of accommodating 10 to 12 Julang-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. The missiles have a range of 8,000 kilometers.

In its annual report for 2008 on Chinese military power, released in March, the U.S. Defense Department predicted China will have deployed five Jin-class submarines by 2010.

This marked the first time the deployment of a Jin-class sub had been confirmed, although it was not the only surprise.

The satellite photos also showed a 16 meter-wide cave on the coast of the island, which could accommodate a submarine, along with entrances to tunnels believed to lead to an underground facility.

An increasing number of military experts have drawn the conclusion that Hainan Island is being transformed into a submarine base.

The deployment of a nuclear submarine to Hainan Island clearly indicates the Chinese Navy is completely transforming itself into a naval force capable of operating with a scope far beyond the level necessary for dealing with Taiwan.

The Chinese Navy apparently aims to become a more powerful player in the South China Sea in which the disputed Spratly Islands are located, and to increase its influence in the Strait of Malacca and the Indian Ocean.

If China completes construction of the base on Hainan Island for strategic nuclear submarines, the United States is expected to counter China's military threats.

Under such a scenario, the United States would probably need to deploy a larger number of nuclear attack submarines in the sea around Hainan Island.

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