US-China relations: Chinese submarines put through their paces in promotional video
- State broadcaster shows eight-minute film of Type 093B submarine taking part in exercise
- Video released days after a US guided-missile destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait
The eight-minute film, shown by China Central Television on Thursday, included footage of the Type 093B submarine – a modified version of the Type 093 – simulating an engagement with an enemy ship and firing a torpedo at it.
Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Tong said the timing of the video’s release was clearly intended to send a message to Washington.
“The Type 093B is powerful enough to be a threat to US warships because it is equipped with YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles,” he said.
“They are combat-ready to deal with an American opponent.”
As well as YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles, the submarines are fitted with anti-ship variants of the CJ-10 cruise missiles that have a range of up to 540km (335 miles).
Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said the Type 093 was fitted with advanced technology to help it locate and track enemy vessels, while also evading detection.
A book by former US Navy captain Jerry Hendrix published in 2016 likened the Type 093 to the US Navy’s Los Angeles-class Flight I and Flight III submarines in terms of stealthiness.
“The 93B is not to be confused with the 93. It is a transition platform between the 93 and the forthcoming 95 … and shows China is learning quickly about how to build a modern fast attack boat,” he said.
The CCTV broadcast also included footage of the PLA’s Type 094, which is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine capable of firing JL-2 missiles with a range of more than 7,000km, Lu said.
“As the US deployed its B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit strategic bombers to the Indo-Pacific, and conducted flights through the East and South China seas over the past few months, the PLA is showing it won’t be deterred by ‘nuclear blackmail’.”
