中国潜艇 vs 美国航母
中国潜艇窥视美国航空母舰
法新社引述美国《华盛顿时报》周一的报道，一艘中国潜艇上月在日本
冲绳岛（OKINAWA）附近的太平洋上偷偷接近一艘美国航空母舰，
在进入鱼雷和导弹射程内后浮出海面，被美军侦察飞机发现。
报道说，十月二十六日被中国潜艇尾随的美国航空母舰是"小鹰号"(USS Kitty Hawk)，
而偷偷尾随美国航母的潜艇，则是中国海军的一艘“宋“级柴油动力攻击潜艇。
中国潜艇在没有被美国战舰发现的状况下，在距离“小鹰号”五海里的地方浮出海面。
美国国防部一名不愿透露姓名的官员表示，中国潜艇的位置是被航空母舰上的
一架舰载侦察飞机，在例行巡逻时确定的。
《华盛顿时报》认为，中美海军在冲绳岛附近的这一对峙，显示中国正在为未来可能
发生中美冲突做准备。《华盛顿时报》表示，美国太平洋司令部司令威廉·法伦
（William.FALLON），对发生这一事件感到相当尴尬，因为法伦海军上将主张美国
与中国扩大军事交流。
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Navy officials confirmed yesterday that an aircraft carrier battle group
failed to detect a Chinese submarine that surfaced within
weapons range of the USS Kitty Hawk. Anti-submarine defenses for the
carrier battle group will be reviewed as a result, they said.
"It was not detected," said one Navy official of the encounter with a
Chinese diesel-powered attack submarine. "And we're concerned about
that, obviously."
The Chinese Song-class attack submarine surfaced near the carrier
in deep waters off Okinawa on Oct. 26. It was armed with
wake-homing torpedos and anti-ship cruise missiles.
The officials said it was unusual for the submarine to be operating
in deep ocean waters, but the incident was not like the April 2001
collision of a U.S. EP-3 surveillance aircraft and Chinese F-8 jet
that ruptured military ties.
"We were operating in international waters, and they were
operating in international waters," the official said.
"From that standpoint, nobody was endangering anybody.
Nobody felt threatened."
However, other defense officials said the submarine
surfacing was a provocative action by the Chinese military,
which has placed a high priority on practicing anti-aircraft-carrier
operations against U.S. carriers and warships in preparation for
a possible future conflict over Taiwan.
The carrier was not engaged in anti-submarine warfare exercises
at the time and thus did not have active patrols for submarines,
the Navy official said. As a result, submarine defenses for the carrier
and its accompanying warships will be reviewed, he said.
The submarine was spotted by carrier-based aircraft conducting
routine surveillance.
The submarine encounter also took U.S. intelligence agencies
by surprise because of years of analyses that continue to portray
a benign China, said a defense official.
"Our China analysts appeared to be stunned that China would
shadow a U.S. carrier as far away as Okinawa," the defense official said.
The Japan-based Kitty Hawk and associated warships are the only
Asia-based battle group and would be the first to respond to a crisis
concerning Taiwan, which China has threatened with force in the past.
The encounter also was unusual because Chinese submarines
normally do not operate in deep waters, both officials said.
"From our standpoint, ... it shows that they continue to develop
blue-water capabilities," the Navy official said.
Pentagon and military officials initially declined to discuss anything
about the submarine incident, claiming details were classified.
Some details were then disclosed after The Washington Times
reported the encounter in yesterday's editions.
Disclosure of the submarine encounter comes as the U.S. Pacific
Fleet commander, Adm. Gary Roughead, is visiting China for
meetings with Chinese military officials.
A Pacific Fleet spokesman said Adm. Roughead could not be reached
yesterday on whether he planned to raise the submarine encounter
during talks with the Chinese.
Adm. Roughead told reporters in Beijing yesterday that he hopes
to better understand the intentions behind China's naval buildup
during his weeklong visit.
"When asked if the PLA navy is a threat, I've been on the record
as saying no," the four-star admiral said, referring to Chinese forces,
the People's Liberation Army. "But I really would like to know what
the intent is in some of the developments that I see in the PLA navy."
Adm. Roughead is in China as the U.S. and Chinese militaries
conduct a joint search-and-rescue operation exercise.
The visit is part of an ambitious program being promoted by the
commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. William J. Fallon, to develop
closer ties with the Chinese military.
The program has been plagued by a lack of reciprocity on the part of
China's military, which continues to refuse U.S. military visitors to key
military facilities or to observe military exercise. By contrast, the U.S.
military has given Chinese military visitors access to sensitive U.S.
facilities and military exercises.
Also, China is continuing to block U.S. military officials from
visiting a secret underground command center in Beijing known
as the Western Hills.
Adm. Roughead is scheduled to meet Chinese navy commander
Vice Admiral Wu Shengli and the commander of the South China Sea Fleet.
Those talks could shed light on China's aggressive naval buildup.
"Clearly, the growth in the capacity and capability of the navy since
I've first been exposed to it in the '90s, the ability to go into the
blue water is very, very clear," he said. "I look forward to having
discussions about what the vision is and perhaps what some of
the operating doctrine might be."
William Tripplett, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee
staff specialist on China, said the failure to track the submarine was
alarming.
"China's tracking of the Kitty Hawk, undetected by U.S. Navy
From:nickwolfe@DRL
anti-submarine warfare assets, is a shocking development," he said.