Chinese sailors on a submarine during the fleet's review of a joint China-Russia naval exercise in the Yellow Sea, April 26, 2012. REUTERS/China Daily
Business Insider: China's growing submarine force is 'armed to the teeth' — and the rest of the Pacific is racing to keep up
* Countries in East Asia, led by China, have been pursuing a military buildup for years.
* Submarines, flexible platforms with strategic uses, have been a particular focus.
* Uncertainty about the balance of power in the region has stoked countries' pursuit of military hardware.
In October 2006, a Chinese Song-class diesel-electric submarine capable of carrying torpedoes and antiship missiles surfaced within firing range of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.
"Some navy officers interpreted it as a 'Gotcha!' move," journalist Michael Fabey wrote in his 2018 book, "Crashback." It was "a warning from China that US carrier groups could no longer expect to operate with impunity."
Almost exactly nine years later, China again demonstrated its growing naval prowess, when a Kilo-class diesel-electric attack sub shadowed the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan near southern Japan.
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WNU Editor: China now has the means to build these subs quickly .... The World's Largest Submarine Factory Is Being Built In China (April 30, 2017).
