China reportedly plans to deploy nuclear-armed submarines to the Pacific amid tensions with the U.S. (Photo : Getty Images)
China is risking inciting an arms race with the United States as Beijing reportedly announced the deployment of nuclear-armed submarines to the Pacific, something other reports considered highly unlikely.
Last week, The Guardian reported how China revealed its plans on releasing an underwater vessel that carries nuclear-powered missiles in the Pacific Ocean.
The report said that China claims to be "left with no choice" but to deploy the submarine due to the recent expansion of the U.S.'s weapon systems that "undermined Beijing's existing deterrent force."
However, Forbes noted that there are several other reports that prove such move to be highly unlikely at the moment because China still lacks the capability to execute it.
China's Nuke-armed Submarine
The Guardian report citing Chinese military officials states that the country will be utilizing a submarine with nuclear missiles in the Pacific Ocean to keep U.S. weapons in check.
Apparently, the outlet's Chinese sources did not comment on the timing of the patrol and only explained that they had to make the move, insisting that the move was inevitable.
They reportedly pinpointed the Western country's plans to deploy the THAAD anti-ballistic system in South Korea that was supposedly to be used only to prevent any more test fires from North Korea, but could possibly threaten the neighboring mainland China as well.
Citing some analysts, The Guardian said that Beijing's plans could only be seen as a threat to the U.S. by the Americans, but the Chinese see it as a "modest" way to maintain deterrence.
"Chinese strategic analysts, unlike their western counterparts, have so far adopted a surprisingly relaxed view of nuclear threats, while some of their U.S. counterparts are inclined toward envisioning worst-case scenarios," Middlebury Institute of International Studies' East Asia Non Proliferation Programme Director Jeffrey Lewis explained.
Lewis noted that this grave misunderstanding between the two nations at a very tense time could be "dangerous."
China's True Capability
While The Guardian appears to be convinced that China could really deploy an underwater vessel with a weapon of mass destruction, there are still some who see it to be far from possible, saying that the country's submarine capabilities have been grossly exaggerated.
"It seems that various news media reports and official statements continue to exaggerate or preempt the operational capability of the Chinese submarine force," the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said in a report.
Forbes believes that the timing of the submarine nuclear missile revelation had been questionably on point, considering that it was made just as U.S. President Barack Obama visited Vietnam, which is one of the small neighbors China is "bullying" in the form of territorial disputes.
