China Sub Threatens US Fleet?

["David Ewing" <ewinglaw@hotmail.com>]

Today, Chinese Language versions of this story are flying around the 
internet  -- probably fuled by the Taiwan CIA.  Dave E.

China sub stalked U.S. fleet
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published November 13, 2006

A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the 
Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and 
missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned.
   The surprise encounter highlights China's continuing efforts to prepare 
for a future conflict with the U.S., despite Pentagon efforts to try to 
boost relations with Beijing's communist-ruled military.
   The submarine encounter with the USS Kitty Hawk and its accompanying 
warships also is an embarrassment to the commander of U.S. forces in the 
Pacific, Adm. William J. Fallon, who is engaged in an ambitious military 
exchange program with China aimed at improving relations between the two 
nations' militaries.
   Disclosure of the incident comes as Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the 
U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, is making his first visit to China. The four-star 
admiral was scheduled to meet senior Chinese military leaders during the 
weeklong visit, which began over the weekend.
   According to the defense officials, the Chinese Song-class 
diesel-powered attack submarine shadowed the Kitty Hawk undetected and 
surfaced within five miles of the carrier Oct. 26.
   The surfaced submarine was spotted by a routine surveillance flight by 
one of the carrier group's planes.
   The Kitty Hawk battle group includes an attack submarine and 
anti-submarine helicopters that are charged with protecting the warships 
from submarine attack.
   According to the officials, the submarine is equipped with Russian-made 
wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles.
   The Kitty Hawk and several other warships were deployed in ocean waters 
near Okinawa at the time, as part of a routine fall deployment program. The 
officials said Chinese submarines rarely have operated in deep water far 
from Chinese shores or shadowed U.S. vessels.
   A Pacific Command spokesman declined to comment on the incident, saying 
details were classified. Pentagon spokesmen also declined to comment.
   The incident is a setback for the aggressive U.S.-China military 
exchange program being promoted by Adm. Fallon, who has made several visits 
to China in recent months in an attempt to develop closer ties.
   However, critics of the program in the Pentagon say China has not 
reciprocated and continues to deny U.S. military visitors access to key 
facilities, including a Beijing command center.
   In contrast, Chinese military visitors have been invited to military 
exercises and sensitive U.S. facilities. Additionally, military intelligence 
officials said Adm. Fallon has restricted U.S. intelligence-gathering 
activities against China, fearing that disclosure of the activities would 
upset relations with Beijing.
   The restrictions are hindering efforts to know more about China's 
military buildup, the officials said. "This is a harbinger of a stronger 
Chinese reaction to America's military presence in East Asia," said Richard 
Fisher, a Chinese military specialist with the International Assessment and 
Strategy Center, who called the submarine incident alarming.
   "Given the long range of new Chinese sub-launched anti-ship missiles and 
those purchased from Russia, this incident is very serious," he said. "It 
will likely happen again, only because Chinese submarine captains of 40 to 
50 new modern submarines entering their navy will want to test their mettle 
against the 7th Fleet."
   Pentagon intelligence officials say China's military buildup in recent 
years has produced large numbers of submarines and surface ships, seeking to 
control larger portions of international waters in Asia, a move U.S. 
officials fear could restrict the flow of oil from the Middle East to Asia 
in the future.
   Between 2002 and last year, China built 14 new submarines, including new 
Song-class vessels and several other types, both diesel- and 
nuclear-powered.
   Since 1996, when the United States dispatched two aircraft carrier 
battle groups to waters near Taiwan in a show of force, Beijing also has 
bought and built weapons designed specifically to attack U.S. aircraft 
carriers and other warships. "The Chinese have made it clear that they 
understand the importance of the submarine in any kind of offensive or 
defensive strategy to deal with a military conflict," an intelligence 
official said recently.
   In late 2004, China dispatched a Han-class submarine to waters near 
Guam, Taiwan and Japan. Japan's military went on emergency alert after the 
submarine surfaced in Japanese waters.
   Beijing apologized for the incursion. The Pentagon's latest annual 
report on Chinese military power stated that China is investing heavily in 
weapons designed "to interdict, at long ranges, aircraft carrier and 
expeditionary strike groups that might deploy to the western Pacific."
   It could not be learned whether the U.S. government lodged a protest 
with China's government over the incident or otherwise raised the matter in 
official channels.

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