Washington military experts described the appearance of a US submarine with
dozens of nuclear warheads near Taiwan carrying a strong message for China.
The USS Nevada is now at the American base in Guam.
In addition to China, messages via nuclear-powered submarines were also
intended for North Korea (North Korea).
“That sends a message – intentional or not: we can park 100 odd nuclear
warheads on your doorstep and you won't even know it or you can't do much
about it,” said Thomas Shugart, a former US Navy submarine captain and now
an analyst at Center for a New American Security, as quoted by CNN, Monday
(17/1/2022).
"And the opposite is not true and won't be for a while," Shugart continued.
The USS Nevada, one of the most powerful weapons in the US Navy's arsenal,
made a rare call-off at the Guam base over the weekend after previously
appearing near Taiwan.
The USS Nevada is an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine carrying 20
Trident ballistic missiles and dozens of nuclear warheads. His rare visit to
Guam was the first by a US ballistic missile submarine since 2006 and the
second since the 1980s.
The USS Nevada is sometimes referred to as the "boomer" due to the large
number of lethal weapons it carries.
"The port visit strengthens cooperation between the United States and allies
in the region, demonstrating the ability, flexibility, readiness, and
continued commitment of the United States to the security and stability of
the Indo-Pacific region," the Navy said in a statement.
The movements of the 14 boomers in the US Navy fleet are usually kept
secret. Nuclear power means the USS Nevada can operate underwater for
months. Its endurance was limited only by the supplies needed to sustain
their crew of more than 150 sailors.
The Navy says Ohio-class submarines stay an average of 77 days at sea before
spending about a month in port for maintenance and recharging.
The secrecy surrounding ballistic missile submarines makes them the most
important surviving leg of the US nuclear triad, which also includes
silo-based ballistic missiles on the US mainland and nuclear-capable bombers
such as the B-2 and B-52.
Other analysts have described the capabilities of the US nuclear arsenal as
not being matched by China or North Korea. Experts at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) say North Korea's ballistic
submarine program is still in its early stages.
While the estimated fleet of six ballistic missile submarines China can not
be equated with the strength of the US Navy. China's Type 094 ballistic
missile submarines are twice as noisy as US submarines, and therefore easier
to detect.
Not only that, according to CSIS analysts, the Chinese ship carried fewer
missiles and warheads. Alessio Patalano, professor of warfare and strategy
at King's College in London, said apart from political signals, the presence
of the USS Nevada in the region presented other opportunities.
“The presence of this type of vessel – especially in training – adds an
important opportunity to learn how to hunt other actors in the region,” said
Patalano.
“The DPRK (North Korea) is pursuing the development of such a platform, and
China is already placing it. Honing the skills to track them is as important
as deploying them as a strategic deterrent,” he said.
The last time a US Navy boomer visited Guam was in 2016, when the USS
Pennsylvania stopped there. Analysts say tensions across the Indo-Pacific
have increased significantly since then, and more such military displays are
likely by Washington in the region now.
"These deployments remind us that the nuclear order at sea in the
(Indo-Pacific) matters, and while often outside of the wider public
conversation, we tend to see it more in the development of regional
strategic balances," Patalano said.
