Furthermore, China has become more difficult to negotiate with than even the former Soviet Union. The tactic of deceiving one's opponent or competitor is deeply engrained in traditional Chinese culture, not only an aspect of communist morality. The ability to deceive one's opponent is evidence of cleverness, not something to feel guilty about, and is a traditional strategy in the Chinese art of war.

This is a basic, uncompromising difference between countries with a Christian or Buddhist culture and China's traditional culture, mixed with communist "ethics."

For example, the Chinese navy is enlarging its underground submarine facility and has started to deploy more 094 SSBNs (nuclear ballistic missile submarines), 091 SSNs (nuclear attack submarines), and KILO 636M SS (diesel powered submarines) in Sanya city on the southern island of Hainan.

Since 2002 China has constructed the largest submarine underground tunnel in Sanya. Satellite photos taken in February revealed that one of the latest 094 SSBNs had entered the new Yalong Naval Base at Sanya. It is too early to say whether it is permanently deployed there, or whether it is just a stopover.

Kanwa Defense Review Monthly has obtained photos from a special correspondent that show that not only the 094 SSBN, but also the new KILO 636M diesel submarines are located at the Sanya submarine base.

The Chinese navy has been enhancing its submarine fleet power in the South China Sea, presumably to block Taiwan and Japan in case of war, and also to secure sea routes in the Indian Ocean to protect its oil shipments from the Middle East. Of course, the submarine fleet is also a threat to South Asian countries that have territorial disputes with China.

Despite the fact that the 094 SSBN was already in Sanya, the April edition of China Defense Daily, an official publication of the People's Liberation Army, denied this fact and published fabricated photos of the submarine it claimed had been created and posted on the Internet to make it appear that the 094 SSBN was in Sanya. The China Defense Daily went to the trouble of explaining in detail how the fake Internet photos were made.

The article criticized Kanwa Defense Review for propagating the "China threat" theory by reporting "false" news about the submarines.

It is widely believed among Western military observers that the PLA has used many fabricated photos and news reports to support its psychological war against the outside world over a long period of time.

The author had the opportunity in February to discuss with Indian and U.S. naval experts in New Delhi the reasons for the appearance of the 094 SSBN in Sanya. The Indian and U.S. experts believe that the submarine was not engaged in tests at sea. Naturally, the Indian expert wondered if the 094 deployment was aimed at India. The U.S. expert speculated that the submarine may have been deployed there because the waters in the South China Sea are deep and make it more difficult to detect the 094.

The U.S. expert agreed with the author's analysis that the submarine's key strike targets would be Hawaii and the southern parts of the United States, should the 094 be deployed at Sanya. The Indian expert suggested that if the 094 was indeed deployed at Sanya, it would be easier to disperse the No. 1 Nuclear Submarine Flotilla and No. 2 Nuclear Submarine Flotilla. It would be difficult to destroy the two submarine flotillas simultaneously in the event of war.

The Indian expert also indicated that Indian observers have not noticed any PLA nuclear submarines or conventional submarines entering the Indian Ocean in recent years. The author's analysis is that a major part of the PLA Navy's attention has been placed on preparations for a "military struggle" against Taiwan.

A submarine design expert from the Russian Rubin Design Bureau said in New Delhi that his company was surprised at the PLA Navy's fast-paced construction of the 094 SSBN and "Yuan" Class diesel-powered submarine.

"It was a very fast construction pace, but the quality seems less than perfect," he said. The overall design of the 094 is coarse, and the tall SLBM cabin will inevitably increase resistance in the water and create substantial noise. Meanwhile, the number of drainage holes on the hull has been carefully calculated and the holes look closable.

The Russian expert, who has designed different models of submarines, indicated that from the images released so far, the 094 seems to have been equipped with towed array sonar. The assessment of the Russian expert is consistent with the author's earlier judgment. The March 2008 issue of Kanwa Defense Review mentioned China's hastiness in building and designing the 094, believing that it reflected the dated mindset of the Chinese submarine designers. The conclusion is that the design of the 094 SSBN may be compared to the concept of the Yankee-II SSBN built in the 1970s by the Soviet navy.

There have been disputes among experts at the Rubin Design Bureau concerning the exterior structure of the Yuan SS. Some experts believe that the design plagiarized the features of the KILO 636, therefore physically the Yuan looks like an imitation version of the KILO. This assessment is understandable.

Other experts from the Rubin Design Bureau have pointed out that the design of the Yuan's hull plagiarized the KILO design, and the design of the tail rudder borrowed the concept of the Amur Class diesel submarine.

China's plagiarism in the design of the Yuan has given rise to heated disputes within the Russian military industry. With its full economic recovery in recent years, Russia is leaning closer to Western practices in many aspects and Russian society has begun to pay greater attention to the importance of intellectual property rights. This overall trend has started to have some impact on the Russian military industry.

The case of the J-11B fighter, whose design is largely copied from Russia, also resulted in heated disputes over China's plagiarism of Russian weapon systems. Western military observers in New Delhi pointed out that Russia had exported to China intact KILO 636 submarines in a deal that did not involve any technology transfer. Although the case of the Yuan SS is different from that of the J-11B, it may very likely have some impact on the issue of technological restrictions concerning Russia's arms exports to China.

One thing certain is that Russia and China have not initiated new rounds of negotiations on the purchase of more KILO or new generation Amur submarines. This means China has no further need for KILOs, unless the Yuan's performance is considered substandard by the PLA navy. Currently, two Yuan-class submarines have been launched and are undertaking sea tests.

(Andrei Chang is editor in chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly, registered in Toronto.)

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