THE US NAVY'S announcement last week that three Los Angeles-class attack submarines will be stationed on Guam slipped by without much fanfare in the regional media, but alarm bells must be ringing in Beijing.
When the USS City of Corpus Christi arrives at its new base later this month, it will mark the first time a nuclear-powered attack submarine has had a home port on the Pacific island, which is strategically located midway between Hawaii and the Philippines.
When the other boats - the USS San Francisco and another yet to be announced - arrive later this year they will be an irritating thorn in the side of China's military planners. As China improves its capabilities with modern fighter jets, ships and submarines, the US is trying to stay one step ahead by boosting its presence in the Pacific and selling arms to Taiwan. The Americans have made no secret of the fact the subs are being sent deeper into the Pacific to remind Beijing of who rules the ocean.
'The US is sending China a message, and the message is that the US navy is the most powerful navy in the Pacific and it intends to stay that way,' said Phillip Saunders, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Programme at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California.
Mr Saunders said the likely reason China had not complained bitterly about the move was the desire for good relations leading up to President Jiang Zemin's visit to the US later this month.
Beijing has reason to be upset at the prospect of having the warships closer to China's coastline. The submarines are among the most sophisticated and versatile weapons in the US arsenal. Along with torpedoes, they can carry Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles to attack sea and land targets. The subs also can fire a version of the Tomahawk that has a range of 2,500km and carries a nuclear warhead.
