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When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.

At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world’s only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.

That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory.

Uninvited guest: A Chinese Song Class submarine, like the one that surfaced by the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk

American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.

By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.

According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.

The Americans had no idea China’s fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.

One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union’s first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.

The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon.

Battle stations: The Kitty Hawk carries 4,500 personnel

The lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines.

And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it.

According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines.

It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as coincidence.

Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its "backyard".

The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels.

Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors.

Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane’s Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War.

He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans.

"It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan."

In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time.

 
 
 
 
中国宋级潜艇再次突现在“小鹰”号附近

北约高级官员最新透露说，近日美国“小鹰”号航空母舰在太平洋进行军事演习时，一艘中国潜艇悄无声息地浮出水面，出现在军演中心海域——“小鹰”附近。
　　
　　英国媒体11月10日指出，中国海军的不速之客突然出现在美国海军在太平洋进行军事演习的中心海域，把美军指挥官吓懵了。这是中国宋级潜艇第二次让“小鹰”号进入其射程范围。一年前美国媒体曾报导说，一艘中国宋级潜艇当年10月曾在太平洋跟踪美国航空母舰“小鹰”号，在射程范围才被发现。
　　
　　英国每日邮报说，至少12艘战舰要对航母提供强大的保护，同时全球唯一的军事超级大国也对航空母舰提供着一个无形的政治盾牌，来阻止任何入侵者。
　　
　　这艘突然浮出水面的中国潜艇，是身长160英尺的宋级柴电攻击型潜艇。据了解，这艘中国潜艇已经进入能够向“小鹰”号航母发射鱼雷或导弹的范围内。北约高级官员说，这起事件令美国海军极为吃惊。
　　
　　文章指出，美国人根本不知道中国快速成长的潜艇舰队，已经发展如此先进的水平，或者说，中国的海军舰队已经构成了如此的威胁。一名北约高级官员说，中国潜艇的举动所造成的影响，“就象前苏联发射第一颗人造卫星所造成的震惊那样大”。
　　
　　无论是英国每日邮报还是北约官员都没有透露这一事件发生的具体时间，只是称其发生在近日，其地点为日本南部和台湾岛之间。但在这样的敏感区域出现这样的事件，对五角大楼来说则是一个极大的尴尬。
　　
　　日本媒体报导10月21日报导称，“小鹰”号已于当天早晨驶离日本神奈川县的横须贺美军基地，开始执行在日本附近的最后一次任务。据美军有关人士透露，“小鹰”号会于11月上旬在日本近海与日本海上自卫队共同进行演习，之后于12月上旬返回横须贺。
　　
　　这样看来，中国潜艇靠近“小鹰”号的事件，可能就是“11月上旬”，也就是最近几日。有意思的是，在“小鹰”号于日本附近海域执行最后一次任务时，却再次 “遭遇”中国潜艇。据悉，以横须贺基地为母港的“小鹰”号已定于2008年5月离开美军基地退役，由核动力航母“乔治.华盛顿”号接替。
　　
　　英国每日邮报引述北约高级官员的话说，这艘“孤独”的中国潜艇从美军至少12艘战舰的眼皮下“溜走”了，而这个庞大的美军战舰群则肩负着保持“小鹰”号航母安全的任务，避免让其遭遇敌对的飞机或潜艇的攻击。
　　
　　甚至美军其它昂贵的防御屏障（它通常至少包括两艘美国潜艇）也未能侦察到中国的潜艇。北约消息人士指出，此次遭遇后不得不认真重新思考美国和北约的海军战略，而作战指挥人员也不得不重新考虑来自中国的潜在的威胁程度。
　　
　　与此同时，这起事件也引发一场紧张的外交往来，惊讶的美国外交官想要知道为什么中国潜艇“像影子一样跟踪”美国的航母舰队，而北京则声称全然无知，称其可能只是“巧合”。
　　
　　分析家认为，北京正向西方发出一个信号，展示其迅速增长的军事能力，已对那些试图干涉其“后院”的外国势力构成威胁。英国每日邮报说，解放军现在已经至少拥有两艘可发射核导弹的潜艇。而宋级潜艇的优势在于，当它使电力马达时，其静音功能非常好，很难被侦察到。
　　
　　英国简氏周刊战舰编辑、前皇家海军反潜专家桑德斯(Stephen Saunders)说，自冷战结束后，美国对象中国宋级潜艇这样的战舰，付出相对较小的关注。桑德斯说：“对美国人来说，它当然是一个警钟。”
　　
　　桑德斯说：这一事件可以与我们所看到的中国正试图想做的一切联系起来，它似乎是为了阻止美国人在其后院进行干涉或操作，尤其是涉及到台湾问题。

 
 
Sources - 来源:
Daily Mail
新华网