If the contention is that the Type 094 took the picture, I discount that as well. First. it would never be found anywhere near US vessels. Too great a risk, since the ChiComms have only one, maybe two at this stage and their role is to hide in the safest, deepest, darkest place they can find to avoid detection. Second, we would have found it before it ever got that close.
Many believe that the Type 094 looks like this:
It surely has that "humped" back which is absent in the picture shown, and it would be a much larger vessel than the one shown.
Though no known/public pictures of the beast exist yet. I am sure we have sat photos and other photos taken from our own assetts...but they are closely held. You can be sure whenever one of them ventures out anywhere, one of our attacks subs is close at hand.
Whatever the case, the Chicomms are embarked on a massive naval buildup and they have jumped several generations in terms of the capability and quality, and modernization of their fleet in the last ten years.
