The South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Communist Navy recently received three types of major warships into its ranks at once, which experts believe is intended to compete with the United States for sea control. One of the strategic missile nuclear submarines is reportedly equipped with the CCP’s longest-range submarine-launched ballistic missile to date. Senior U.S. military officials have issued warnings about the development of nuclear weapons by the Chinese Communist Party and other countries.
April 23 marked the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Navy. As part of the commemoration, Communist Party President Xi Jinping personally attended a ceremony to hand over three new major warships for the South China Sea Fleet. Chinese official media said the three ships were officially inducted into the Chinese Navy: a strategic nuclear missile submarine (the Long March 18 with the number 421), a large missile destroyer and an amphibious assault ship.
Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported Saturday (May 1) that the newly delivered nuclear-powered submarines are equipped with the Communist Party’s most powerful submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) capable of striking the U.S. mainland, according to military sources and analysts. Earlier, official Chinese media revealed that the new strategic missile nuclear submarine recently received by the South China Sea Fleet is the latest 094A modified strategic nuclear submarine of the Chinese Communist Party.
The South China Morning Post quoted a source close to the Chinese Communist Navy as saying that the 094A modified strategic nuclear submarine is capable of launching a Julang-3 (JL-3) submarine-launched ballistic missile with a range of more than 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles).
Compared to its predecessor, the 094A, the source said, the modified 094A strategic nuclear submarine “overcame one of the key problems – noise – to enable it to carry the more powerful JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile. The source requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The source further said that the 094A with the Chiron-3 would have a strike range “capable of covering the entire American continent.
Previously, Chinese nuclear submarines have reportedly been plagued by excessive noise and ease of detection.
Observers point out that the Chinese navy does not usually announce the name or number of its nuclear submarines when they enter service, and the news media generally do not report on them publicly. The media’s announcement of nuclear submarine names and numbers on the 72nd anniversary of the Chinese navy’s founding indicates a bold step toward strengthening the Chinese navy’s control over disputed Asian waters and a new challenge to increased U.S. influence in the region.
An earlier Voice of America report cited analysts as saying that the Chinese Communist Party eventually hopes to “break through” the first island chain, and that increasing naval power is one way to do so.
Writing in the February issue of Proceedings, the journal of the Naval Academy, Admiral Charles Richard, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, warned of the development of nuclear weapons by the Chinese Communist Party and Russia. He said there is a real possibility of a nuclear war between the United States and China and Russia, accusing Moscow and Beijing of “challenging” world peace and Russia and China of being aggressive in ways “unheard of since the Cold War.
According to Admiral Richard, the U.S. military needs to take a number of actions to prepare strategically, including rethinking how it assesses strategic risks and how it procures weapons systems and other capabilities to maintain U.S. strategic advantage.
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