Satellite evidence indicating that China has built a “midget” submarine at its Wuchang shipyard in Wuhan might be of particular concern to Taiwan, analysts said.
“If built in significant numbers, small or midget submarines could further expand China’s gathering capabilities to invade Taiwan,” International Assessment and Strategy Center senior fellow Richard Fisher told reporters.
“A large number of small submarines could serve to increase the number of ports that China could attack by air and seaborne special forces,” said Fisher, an expert on China’s military.
IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly and News Corp Australia reported this week that DigitalGlobal satellite imagery has revealed a submarine with an approximate length of 35m and a width of 4m — estimated to displace from 400 to 500 tonnes — berthed at a pontoon used for fitting out submarines in China’s Hubei Province.
“The Wuchang shipyard is at the forefront of conventional submarine production in China,” Jane’s said.
The satellite imagery was recorded late last year, but has just been analyzed and released.
News Corp said the mini sub had not been “seen nor heard of” since the satellite images were made.
It is not known whether the small submarine spotted by the satellite is a one-off production model or part of a much larger fleet.
“Such a submarine is ideally suited to operate in the shallow waters of the East China and South China seas, hiding among the clutter of the seabed and noisy tidal currents,” News Corp said. “While able to carry torpedoes, military analysts believe the primary purpose of these commando submarines is to secretly deploy spies and special forces.”
Fisher told the Taipei Times that in the case of an invasion, the more Taiwanese ports that China can capture, the easier it would be for China’s People’s Liberation Army to use civilian-operated sea-lift capabilities to rapidly increase deployed forces for further operations.
He said that for other nations, China’s development of small submarines presents a considerable proliferation challenge.
“By virtue of their smaller size, they are also cheaper to acquire and maintain, and thus affordable to nations like Argentina, which China appears intent on re-arming,” Fisher said.
Development of small submarines also accelerates China’s ability to develop uncrewed underwater combat vehicles (UUCVs) that could be used for surveillance, targeting, mine-laying or attacking ships, he said.
“It should be expected that future Chinese UUCVs will also be deployed for use against Taiwan,” Fisher said.
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