A Navy submarine commando patrols the ocean floor.
(Photo by US Navy/Getty Images)The United States Navy is on the front lines of a battle with China over the South China Sea, and there are more than 100 subs in the area, according to a report by a U.S. government watchdog.
The report, commissioned by the U.N. Committee Against Torture, found that the United States has an active submarine presence in the Spratly Islands and the Paracels, where it operates the USS Nitze, which has two nuclear-powered submarines and the USS John S. McCain, which operates two nuclear submarines.
The U.K. defense department has confirmed that it has a nuclear-capable submarine in the region, as does Australia, France and Spain.
“This is a major challenge for us,” said Maj. Gen. Michael T. McKeown, deputy chief of naval operations, during a briefing at the Pentagon.
“The U .
S. has a submarine presence on the South Chinese Sea.”
The report said that the U .
K. has 10 nuclear-armed subs, but China’s fleet includes seven, including two nuclear subs.
It said that China has also launched two ballistic missiles at the U s nuclear-tipped USS Nitzed, which is in the vicinity of the Sprats, which China claims as its own.
The submarines are also in close proximity to the United Nations, where the U S. maintains its military base in Guam, the report said.
The Navy is under increasing pressure from China to curb its aggressive behavior in the South and East China Seas.
China’s president, Xi Jinping, has ordered a naval buildup and is pressing ahead with the construction of a military base on the reefs.
In June, China launched what was seen as a prelude to a new military move against the United Sates, a move that could complicate the U s efforts to persuade China to deescalate the situation.
The United Sate has been the target of repeated naval and air raids by China.
Last month, a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed within 1,000 miles of the U States Navy’s aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan.
The USS John McCain, the only U. S. nuclear-power submarine, was also on the way to the South.
McKeown said the Us has an operational submarine fleet of at least 100 subs, including the USS Samuel Zumwalt, the submarine commandos, and two nuclear powered submarines.
McKee, the Navy’s deputy chief for naval operations and operations intelligence, said that although the Navy has no official count of the number of submarines in the water, the US.
Navy has “significant numbers” of nuclear- and ballistic-missile submarines, which are “not designed for operations off of the water.”
China has a much larger naval presence in disputed waters.
It has more than 700 aircraft carriers, and the Chinese navy is in place to deter the United states from sending more warships to the region.
“We are taking the necessary steps to respond to this challenge and build upon our naval capabilities in the Asia Pacific region, while working with allies and partners to deter China from threatening freedom and security in the East China Sea,” McKepool said.