WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Department officials said they are concerned about how quickly China developed a class of submarine designed to carry nuclear long-range missiles.
The fast pace of the Jin-class submarine is included in an upcoming Pentagon report on China's military that shows increasing concern over land and sea-based programs from U.S. officials, the Financial Times reported.
"It paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing ... some very sophisticated capabilities," U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the Financial Times of the 2007 Pentagon China report.
Pentagon officials said they believe a Jin submarines is being tested and five more are being developed.
"The Chinese have maintained that they have a 'no first use' policy (for nuclear weapons) and that they have a minimal deterrent policy, which means they have only enough nuclear capability to retaliate," Michael Green, former White House senior Asia adviser to U.S. President George Bush, told the newspaper.
"But open source journals and discussions and their own modernization suggest that they are possibly developing capabilities for a more flexible use of nuclear weapons, and survivability and tactical uses that would call into question this declared policy."
