Advertisement
Chinese nuclear submarine spotted sailing on the surface in Taiwan Strait
- Satellite image shows Type 094 heading north from PLA naval base in Yulin, according to US defence analyst
- Rare move could be a signal to the US, or it may have been heading to Bohai Shipyard for repairs, experts say
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
41
A Chinese nuclear-powered submarine surfaced in the Taiwan Strait on Monday, a US defence analyst said, citing satellite imagery – a rare move that could be a message for Washington.
Advertisement
US Naval Institute columnist H.I. Sutton posted the image – taken by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite around 10am – which he said showed a ballistic missile submarine in the waterway, accompanied by another vessel.
“Although Sentinel-2 is low resolution, the wake patterns are characteristic of a submarine with typical rounded bow. The length best fits the Type 094 and the context aligns,” Sutton wrote on his personal website Covert Shores.
He said the submarine was heading north from the People’s Liberation Army base in Yulin, on the southern coast of Hainan in the South China Sea. He said it was likely a routine transit, noting that Chinese submarines returned north to a shipyard on the Bohai Sea for “repairs and overhaul”.
Military experts said it was unusual for a ballistic missile submarine to surface, especially an advanced PLA Navy vessel like the Type 094. The Jin-class submarines carry JL-2 ballistic missiles with a range of about 7,000km (4,350 miles) – meaning they could hit the northeast of the United States. The latest version of that submarine, the Type 094A, went into service in April and reportedly carries the more powerful JL-3 ballistic missiles with a range of over 10,000km.
“[Weapons carried] by the Type 094 were designed to target the US,” Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Tong noted, adding that “a surfaced transit doesn’t make sense – unless the PLA wants people to see it”.
Advertisement
Advertisement