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US strengthens its submarine fleet as China naval forces swell

	June 16, 2008

The US Government has begun strengthening its submarine fleet to counter China’s growing build-up 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 US and China will intensify over their respective influence in the Pacific region. The US Congress has approved funding to double the production of Virginia-class submarines 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. In its annual report for 2008 on China’s military power released in March, the US Defence Department predicted that China will have deployed five Jin-class submarines by 2010. Experts have drawn the conclusion that Hainan Island is being transformed into a submarine base.