Navy

Chinese Submarines Thought To Be Catching Up With U.S. Navy

“[Chinese submarines] are definitely catching up to us,” said Captain Chester Parks, commanding officer of the U.S. Navy’s missile submarine base at Kings Bay, Georgia, earlier this month while speaking about the Navy’s next-generation Colombia Class missile submarine.

The comment resonates with me. As a defense analyst I am constantly reminded of the rapid modernization of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). China has had a few nuclear-powered submarines since the 1970s but for many years they were widely regarded as inferior to Western types. The latest Type-093 ‘Shang’ Class fast attack submarines and Type-094 ‘Jin’ Class ballistic missile submarines are a different matter. They are more numerous and, very likely, substantially more potent. They are not necessarily as capable as their western equivalents, but the gap is closing over time.