A rare satellite image has shown a Chinese nuclear-powered ballistic missile Type 094 submarine with open missile hatches while at the dock in Longpo Naval Base on Hainan Island, facing the disputed South China Sea.
The image, taken December 7 and accessible in Google Earth Pro, is a photograph of the submarine identified to be a Type 094; at least four hatches of missiles are seen to be open. A source of this discovery was pointed out through open-source intelligence analyst @benreuter_IMINT.
The Type 094 submarine remains one of China’s nuclear deterrence assets at sea. As many as 12 such long-range ballistic missiles in each vessel could be in the form of either the JL-2 or the JL-3. According to a report from the Pentagon dated 2023, a JL-3 missile travels a distance of up to 5,400 nautical miles and can hit parts of the U.S. mainland from Chinese waters.
Longpo Naval Base is strategically located with advanced underground facilities. The complex shelters six large wharves capable of mooring 12 submarines and shields its assets from surveillance and attacks.
Collin Koh, a senior fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, noted that the image was a “rare shot,” supporting reports of China’s regular strategic deterrent patrols in the South China Sea.
It also indicates that a crane is there near the submarine’s open hatches suggesting maintenance or missile-related activities. Still, experts, such as former U.S. Navy submariner Tom Shugart cautioned that this was speculation and that the activity did not suggest missile loading or unloading.
The country has nothing to say on the issue, but it puts more into the spotlight the ever-rising strategic importance of the South China Sea wherein China wants to increase naval presence amidst territorial disputes.
The most recent image further exacerbates the concerns over the nuclear build-up of China because it continues to modernize its naval forces and strengthen its deterrence strategy in the region.
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