Report: China arming submarines with nuke missiles that could reach US

A new report has revealed that the Chinese Navy is preparing for a possible enemy attack, arming its submarines with nuclear missiles that could reach the United States.

Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that the Asian superpower is “cloaking its arsenal with the invisibility needed to retaliate in the event of an enemy strike.”

The Chinese military is arming JIN class submarines with nuclear JL-2 ballistic missiles, according to the report.

Last month, an annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission warned that the submarines would conduct patrols by the end of 2014 and that would give China its “first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent.”

The US report to Congress also said assessments of the numbers of Chinese nuclear capable ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads were not possible due to the country’s lack of transparency.

The commission’s report clarified that China has three of those JIN class submarines now and it will add two more by 2020.

It said each submarine could carry 12 JL-2 missiles that “appear to have reached initial operational capability.”

The Chinese missiles with a range of about 4,598 miles could reach Alaska from waters near China and they could reach Alaska and Hawaii from waters south of Japan.

The missile could target Alaska, Hawaii, and western continental US if launched from waters west of Hawaii and against all 50 US states if fired from waters east of Hawaii, the commission’s report said.

Bloomberg said the Chinese submarines would be located near China’s coastal waters and the South China Sea.

The US Navy is concerned about China’s military power.

The United States says that Beijing will have more warships than Washington by 2020. The number of China’s military vessels would reach about 351 within six years.