By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 13, 2006
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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