WashTimes: China sub secretly stalked U.S. fleet (surprisingly within firing range)

Washington Times ^ | Washington Times

[quesney]

By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES November 13, 2006

The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier (AFP/Getty Images)

A Chinese submarine stalked a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group in the Pacific last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times has learned.

The surprise encounter highlights China's continuing efforts to prepare for a future conflict with the U.S., despite Pentagon efforts to try to boost relations with Beijing's communist-ruled military.

The submarine encounter with the USS Kitty Hawk and its accompanying warships also is an embarrassment to the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. William J. Fallon, who is engaged in an ambitious military exchange program with China aimed at improving relations between the two nations' militaries.

Disclosure of the incident comes as Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet, is making his first visit to China.

[...]

[MyrtleBeachbum]

We monitored their screws and now have them in our database for future tracking. Don't think for one minute that we would let them get away that easy.

[Jeff Head]

In this instance, I imagine that we detected tham and that their surfacing may have even been at our own instigation...also perhaps not.

In any case, a diesel electric does not have the speed or endurance to "shadow" a CSG. In the end, we got good intelligence on them...but the Song is something we are already well aware of. Too bad it wasn't one of their newer Yuan class, which are even more capable.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Actually, it really doesn't matter. I am not an enemy of the United States. I was pointing out the fact that the bigger secret would be if there were not subs on every cruise.

[HamiltonJay]

But batteries only last so long.... I suspect the proposed theory that they knew where we were going and simply laid in wait in our path to surface after we passed a more plausible likelihood.