Chinese Submarine Stalks US Carrier

Washington: A Chinese submarine approached a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean last month and surfaced within firing range of its torpedoes and missiles before being detected, The Washington Times reported Monday. The newspaper said the encounter highlighted China's continuing efforts to prepare for a possible future conflict with the United States despite the administration's efforts to try to boost relations with the Chinese military.

The submarine encounter with the USS Kitty Hawk and its battle group also is an embarrassment to the commander of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral William Fallon, who is engaged in an ambitious military exchange program with China, the report said.

Citing unnamed defense officials, the paper said the Chinese Song-class diesel-powered attack submarine shadowed the Kitty Hawk undetected and surfaced within five miles of the carrier on October 26.

The surfaced submarine was spotted by a routine surveillance flight by one of the carrier group's planes, The Times said. The Kitty Hawk battle group includes an attack submarine and anti-submarine helicopters that are charged with protecting the warships from submarine attack.

The submarine is equipped with Russian-made wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles, the paper said.

The Kitty Hawk and several other warships were deployed near Okinawa at the time, as part of a routine fall deployment program. The Times said Chinese submarines rarely have operated in deep water far from Chinese shores or shadowed US vessels.