As China grows in both power and desire, one of its greatest military weaknesses is being addressed in a big way. The PLAN toyed with the concept of developing a competitive carrier force. Having seemingly shelved that ambition after bearing little fruit at great expense, their submarine ambitions are both great and progressing.

The Heritage Foundation's John J. Tkacik, Jr. attempts to alert the American public to this growing threat as it dives beneath the surface in China's Submarine Challenge.

Sea-power trends in the Pacific Ocean are ominous. By 2025, China’s navy could rule the waves of the Pacific. By some estimates, Chinese attack submarines will outnumber U.S. submarines in the Pacific by five to one and Chinese nuclear ballistic missile submarines will prowl America’s Western littoral, each closely tailed by two U.S. attack submarines that have better things to do. The United States, meanwhile, will likely struggle to build enough submarines to meet this challenge.

A misplaced diplomacy leaves some U.S. Navy commanders reluctant to admit publicly that China’s rapidly expanding submarine force in the Pacific is a threat, but if the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) and the latest Pentagon “Report on the Military Power of the People’s Republic of China” (MPPRC Report) are any indication, they are undoubtedly thinking it. [Emphasis added]

For another important work from The Heritage Foundation, see also China’s Influence in Africa: Implications for the United States.