WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- China is outstripping the United States by 14 to one in building new military submarines, a congressman warned Thursday.
If the trend continues, China will have a larger submarine fleet than the U.S. Navy by the year 2017, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., the ranking member of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, warned Thursday.
"Last year China launched 14 submarines, while we launched only one," Bartlett said in a statement.
Bartlett acknowledged that China's new submarines were all diesel powered unlike U.S. submarines which are all nuclear powered and therefore can stay under water and at sea far longer, and can project power over far greater distances and longer periods of time around the world.
However, he warned that the trend reflected growing Chinese military industrial capabilities and predicted that it presented a long-term challenge to U.S. maritime supremacy.
"While it is undeniable that China's diesel submarines do not offer the same capability as our nuclear attack submarines, these trends suggest that the size of the Chinese fleet could surpass the United States Navy's within a decade and indicate that China's submarine design base is maturing," Bartlett said.
