China's new nuclear naval base revealed

Secret Sanya - China's new nuclear naval base revealed

4/21/2008

China is constructing a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, on Hainan Island off its southern coast, Jane's can confirm. Although Asian military sources have disclosed this fact to Jane's since 2002, high-resolution commercially available satellite imagery from DigitalGlobe allows independent verification of the previous suggestions.

The extent of construction indicates the Sanya base (also known as Yulin) could become a key future base for People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft carriers and other power-projection ships. In December 2007, perhaps in concert with a major PLAN exercise the previous month, the PLA moved its first Type 094 second-generation nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to Sanya.

An underground submarine base and the positioning of China's most advanced sub-surface combatants at Sanya would have implications for China's control of the South China Sea and the strategically vital straits in the area. Further satellite imagery suggests the construction of Sanya has been supported by a gradual military build-up in the Paracel Islands over the last 20 years, and the transformation of the Chinese-occupied features in the Spratly Island group into assets that could support a range of military operations.

China's nuclear and naval build-up at Sanya underlines Beijing's desire to assert tighter control over this region. China's increasing dependence on imported petroleum and mineral resources has contributed to an intensified Chinese concern about defending its access to vital sea lanes, particularly to its south. It is this concern that in large part is driving China's development of power-projection naval forces such as aircraft carriers and long-range nuclear submarines.

China has pursued this build-up at Sanya with little fanfare, offering no public explanations regarding its plan to base nuclear weapons or advanced naval platforms there.

For both regional and extra-regional powers, it will be difficult to ignore that China is now building a major naval base at Sanya and may be preparing to house and protect a large proportion of its nuclear forces here, and even operate them from this base. This development so close to the Southeast Asian sea lanes so vital to the economies of Asia can only cause concern far beyond these straits.

Image: Digital imagery has confirmed Sanya's place as a major future Chinese naval base. (DigitalGlobe) 354 of 2,374 words

China's Underground Submarine Base Scrutinized

by JACKIE NORTHAM

May 09, 2008 6:00 AM

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Recent satellite imagery shows what appears to be a Type 094 second-generation nuclear ballistic missile submarine at one of the piers of an underground submarine base at Sanya, on China's Hainan Island.

DigitalGlobe

An underground nuclear submarine base on China's Hainan Island is drawing scrutiny from the United States and India.

According to satellite imagery on the Web sites of Jane's Intelligence Review and the Federation of American Scientists, the base has a sea entrance wide enough to allow submarines to enter the underground facilities. The photograph reveals what appears to be a ballistic missile submarine moored to one of the piers outside.

Rumors of a nuclear submarine base had been swirling for a few years. Kurt Campbell, with the Center for a New American Security, says the satellite photographs confirm those suspicions and stoke anxiety in the region about China's strategic capabilities — and its intentions.

The new base is close to vital sea lanes in the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca, which China is determined to protect. The location could give China better access — and dominance — over disputed territories, such as the Parcel Islands and Spratley Islands in the South China Sea. The naval facility will also give China more leverage over Taiwan.

India, which also is developing a "blue water navy" and has a rivalry with China that goes back decades, sees the new Chinese base as a "cause for security concern," according to India's Naval chief, Adm. Sureesh Mehta.

Bud Cole, a professor at the National War College and the author of a book on China's military, says adding some sea-based nuclear weapons will not make China the dominant force in the region. Cole says the U.S. has an overwhelming military edge when it comes to nuclear weapons. But, he says, the underground base in China is significant.

"It's something that the United States Navy should be aware of and attempt to prepare for in our long-range planning. But I don't think it's a cause for alarm," Cole says.