China arms submarines with nuclear missiles

[CityFarmer]

It should be a milestone of "power-plays" in AP region. No strong objection or at least concern from US?

China arms submarines with nuclear missiles

HONG KONG — Fifty years after China carried out its first nuclear test, patrols by the almost impossible-to-detect JIN-class submarines armed with nuclear JL–2 ballistic missiles will give President Xi Jinping greater agility to respond to an attack.

The nuclear-powered submarines will probably conduct initial patrols with the missiles by the end of the year, giving China its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent, said an annual report to the United States Congress submitted last month by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Deploying the vessels will burnish China’s prestige as Mr Xi seeks to end what he calls the “cold war” mentality that resulted in US dominance of Asia-Pacific security. Since coming to power, he has raised military spending with a focus on longer-range capacity, including plans to add to the country’s tally of a single aircraft carrier.

“For the first time in history, China’s nuclear arsenal will be invulnerable to a first strike,” said strategist Nicolas Giacometti, who has written analysis for the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington DC. “It’s the last leap towards China’s assured nuclear-retaliation capability.”

China’s nuclear-defence strategy is engineered to provide retaliation capability in the event of an attack from nuclear-powered nations as far away as the US and from Russia and India, said Philadelphia’s Foreign Policy Research Institute senior fellow Felix Chang.
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http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...r-missiles

[corydorus]

I thought this is good for the world. China is much more stable now and can counteract to have a better balance of power to the world.

[specuvestor]

Foreigners will fear China emergence as military power. Unfortunately they don't understand Chinese history

Except for maybe Tibet, most of China's expansion was not a matter of choice but defence. The Middle Kingdom does not really care what happens outside of it as long the outside doesn't come and bother them. You can call that bo-chap or selfish.

That is why even today China has literally no foreign policy except for the unstated "enemy of my enemy is my friend". Territorial wise they are much more concerned about national pride after the pre-WW2 humiliations, and of course resource gathering and trade.

[sgd]

Aggression is in their blood. Besides tibet in the past they have bombarded the vietnamese I think was 79' under deng xiaoping.

You see of late they been camping out in the backyards of Japan, Phillippines and more recently moved a football size oil rig just miles off the coast of a vietnamese island. in the spratlys they been building a chain of bases which is very clear indication they going to use support their navy eventually.

What I see the Americans are playing politics using Pro-America countries as proxies. All these happen when japan seized the island after that china is trying to show that they are "strong" to these challenges by also adding their pressure.

am just thankful we don't have any territorial interest in the spratly islands or far flung places.

but is a matter of time we will feel their enforcement in south china sea and bad for us if they start taxing merchant shipping entering their waters, everybody will start playing this game.