China expands submarine base near South China Sea, satellite images show
- Work has been under way at the Yulin Naval Base off Yalong Bay in Hainan for years, including for a dry dock for Type 002 aircraft carriers
- China’s tourism push for Hainan island in the 1980s and 1990s ignored security requirements for original piers at the base, military analyst says
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Works began in March with what appeared to be land reclamation, according to satellite imagery from that period. By late July, the two new piers – one to the north of the existing four and the other to the south – had largely taken shape. Submarines continued to use the Yulin base while construction was under way.
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Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, said the site of the new submarine piers might replace the original site west of Yalong Bay and closer to urban Sanya.
“The original site is poorly located because it is diagonally opposite the resorts,” he said. “The Hainan government did not have security awareness when it started inviting overseas investment to promote Sanya’s tourism in the 1980s and 1990s.”
China has been promoting tropical Hainan island, and especially Sanya, as a premier destination with beaches and resorts for international tourists.
Zhou said the old base would be used for training submarine crews, while the new one would be used for strategic deployment of submarines such as Type 094 ballistic missile submarines and Type 093 attack submarines. The older and less capable Type 091 submarines would be gradually replaced by their Type 093 counterparts.
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Former PLA instructor Song Zhongping said it was only natural China would bolster its nuclear submarine bases given its military strategy was to expand its nuclear capabilities.
“US nuclear forces mainly rely on sea-based nuclear forces, so from China’s point of view, strengthening sea-based nuclear forces will strengthen its second-strike capability,” he said, referring to the ability to respond to a nuclear attack with nuclear arms. “Therefore, China will have more strategic nuclear submarines with missiles coming into service.”
But having a base in Hainan did not necessarily suggest the submarines would be used mainly in the South China Sea because second-strike capability could only be effectively used in the Pacific Ocean, he said.
Additional reporting by Minnie Chan
