China is looking to dominate the seas
By improving its submarine fleet
Including potentially a new “Killer Sub”
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
This episode is sponsored by Incogni.
You probably know that companies are collecting your personal data. But you may not realize
just how many. Dozens, maybe hundreds—most of which you’ve never heard of. And you have no
idea what they’re doing with it. Incogni helps you stop them. I’ll explain more at the end.
So, China was once the world’s greatest seafaring naval power...in the early 1400s.
But since then? Not so much. As the Chinese Communist Party was taking over China in 1949,
it launched the People’s Liberation Army Navy—or P.L.A. Navy.
And they got a little help from the Soviet Union.
While the PLA Navy has only recently obtained aircraft carriers, their submarine fleets are
nothing new. They started with a humble fleet of Soviet Whiskey-class diesel-electric submarines
that were based heavily off of German U-Boats captured during World War II.
It wasn’t until 1974 when China created its own homemade attack submarine: The Ming-Class.
It was based on Soviet design input.
Eventually, China entered the nuclear age of warships. They currently have five
operational variants of submarines in their arsenal, including ones like this—designed
to launch nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
And now, according to the imagery intelligence company AllSource Analysis,
there is “a possible new class of submarine at Huludao Port” in China.
Analysts believe the submarine spotted in the dry dock could be a new
“G” model Shang-class variant—or it could be a completely new submarine altogether.
We may be looking at the new Type-95 or Sui-class submarine, which would be China’s
first third-generation attack submarine. And it could be a dangerous “killer sub”.
The submarine was initially spotted in late April to early May. Since then, there’s been
a lot of speculation over what class it belongs to, and whether or not we have caught a glimpse
of China’s newest attempt to wrest control of the high seas from the United States.
In modern Naval doctrine, submarines are a crucial aspect of any “blue water” navy
that wants to expand beyond its boundaries.
In the US, the Seawolf and Virginia classes of attack submarines have dominated the seas.
The Virginia class entered service in the early 2000s.
In addition to attack submarines, the US Navy also has several ballistic missile submarines.
These subs can lurk beneath the waves anywhere in the world,
and quickly launch a nuclear missile—which is a pretty important nuclear deterrent.
Submarine warfare is an essential component of modern naval warfare, particularly
when it comes to deterring, destroying, or defending large surface vessels.
The Chinese Communist Party is especially concerned with the more modern
American submarine fleets, which tend to run much quieter than their Chinese
counterparts and have more combat capabilities.
But China’s navy is growing fast. And while the PLA may still be
rookies when it comes to having a modern navy, the West does not take them lightly.
That’s because in addition to their growing fleet of submarines,
the PLA Navy also has anti-ship ballistic missiles. Those can be fired from certain
types of submarines, and destroy US ships, like Destroyers and even Aircraft Carriers.
Last year, the PLA built a replica of a US aircraft carrier in the desert in Xinjiang—and
used it for missile target practice.
And preparing to launch missiles at US ships is only one part of China’s naval strategy.
They also have aircraft carriers.
When their first one was commissioned in 2012, everyone laughed. It was a remodel
of an old Soviet carrier, and it had that stupid ski-jump ramp.
But 10 years on, things have changed. Now China is building its own carriers.
And it’s on track to build four this year.
Another PLA Navy strategy goes beyond ship-building. They’re
using harassment to put pressure on the US Navy.
The Chinese Communist Party has pretty lax rules of engagement when it comes
to asserting dominance over disputed waters.
Like by using their supposedly commercial fishing vessels
to harass US ships in the South China Sea, which China claims as their own territory.
And US warships are no stranger to PLA Navy vessels shadowing them. On occasion PLA Navy
sailors will even harass US Naval Aviators on the radio near the Spratly Islands.
While tensions between the US and China in the South China Sea are nothing new,
the addition of China’s submarines beneath the waves may prove unsettling to the US Navy.
The US slacked off on its anti-submarine warfare after the Cold War.
But it has stepped it up again with recent Anti-Submarine Warfare operations, or ASW.
ASW operations are carried out by naval assets ranging from
aircraft, to surface vessels, to submarines.
Plus the US Navy has begun doing joint training with allied nations. The point is to make sure
different nations can work together in the event of a war with...no nation in particular.
With the Chinese Navy on a determined path towards modernization, and eyeing the ability to
control navigation and commerce through military power, there is no telling what the future holds.
And this episode has been sponsored by Incogni.
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What are they doing with this personal data? They’re buying it,
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And when these companies get hacked, you could be in big trouble. And yes, I said “when”, not “if”.
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored