Nuclear-Powered Chinese Submarines To Hold Initial Patrol With Missiles By End Of 2014

Dec 09, 2014 03:24 AM EST

(Photo : Reuters) Chinese naval destroyer Haikou (L) and missile frigate Yueyang depart for the Rim of the Pacific exercise (RIMPAC), at a military port in Sanya, Hainan province June 9, 2014. China on Monday confirmed that it will participate for the first time in a major U.S.-hosted naval drill this month, sending four ships including a destroyer and frigate, even as deep military distrust persists between the two countries. Picture taken June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS)

China will become a threat to all U.S. military forces in the Western Pacific within the next decade, warns a report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The report, issued on November 19, warns of China's growing capability to maim U.S. national security satellites in different ways using kinetic, laser, electronic jamming and seizing methods.

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The bigger challenge for the West is that China's submarines armed could reach the U.S. and it would be difficult for the U.S. to strike back since the submarines carrying nuclear JL-2 ballistic missiles are difficult to detect.

The report said that China will likely hold its initial patrols with missiles by the end of this year. The nuke subs are results of the country's higher military spending under President Xi Jinping, which includes having longer-range capacity missiles as well as purchasing more single aircraft carriers.

With its aggressive military expansion, Beijing's nuclear-defense strategy now has capacity to retaliate if other nations such as the U.S., Russia or India that possess nuclear power would initiate an attack, said Felix Chang, senior fellow at Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute.

Nicolas Giacometti, an independent strategist and author of an analysis for The Diplomat and Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed with Chang's assessment. He said, quoted by Livemint, "For the first time in history, China' nuclear arsenal will be vulnerable to a first strike."

He added, "It's the last leap toward China's assured nuclear-retaliation capability."

According to a 2013 Pentagon report cited by Defensenews, China then only had 50 to 75 ICBMs that could reach the U.S. But within the next 15 years, it would increase to 100 ICBMs.

The November 19 report warned that Beijing's nuclear program would turn more deadly and survivable in the next three to five years as it deploys more road-mobile nuclear missiles, five nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with 12 sea-launched ICBMs and multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles armed with ICBMs.

Should China attack the U.S. with JL-2 missile, 20 warheads would produce radioactive dust spread by wind which would contaminate thousands of kilometers, foresees Pei Shen, the author of the report.