U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message

[BlueStateSaint]

This is rather unlike Teh Obamessiah, don't 'cha think?

U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message

By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON Mark Thompson / Washington – 39 mins ago

If China's satellites and spies were working properly, there would have been a flood of unsettling intelligence flowing into the Beijing headquarters of the Chinese navy last week.  A new class of U.S. superweapon had suddenly surfaced nearby.  It was an Ohio-class submarine, which for decades carried only nuclear missiles targeted against the Soviet Union, and then Russia.  But this one was different: for nearly three years, the U.S. Navy has been dispatching modified "boomers" to who knows where (they do travel underwater, after all).  Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tipped Trident missiles.  Instead, they hold up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each, capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles with non-nuclear warheads.

Their capability makes watching these particular submarines especially interesting.  The 14 Trident-carrying subs are useful in the unlikely event of a nuclear Armageddon, and Russia remains their prime target.  But the Tomahawk-outfitted quartet carries a weapon that the U.S. military has used repeatedly against targets in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan.  (See pictures of the U.S. military in the Pacific.)

That's why alarm bells would have sounded in Beijing on June 28 when the Tomahawk-laden 560-ft. U.S.S. Ohio popped up in the Philippines' Subic Bay.  More alarms were likely sounded when the U.S.S. Michigan arrived in Pusan, South Korea, on the same day.  And the Klaxons would have maxed out as the U.S.S. Florida surfaced, also on the same day, at the joint U.S.-British naval base on Diego Garcia, a flyspeck of an island in the Indian Ocean.  In all, the Chinese military awoke to find as many as 462 new Tomahawks deployed by the U.S. in its neighborhood.  "There's been a decision to bolster our forces in the Pacific," says Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.  "There is no doubt that China will stand up and take notice."

U.S. officials deny that any message is being directed at Beijing, saying the Tomahawk triple play was a coincidence.  But they did make sure that news of the deployments appeared in the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post - on July 4, no less.  The Chinese took notice quietly.  "At present, common aspirations of countries in the Asian and Pacific regions are seeking for peace, stability and regional security,"  Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said on Wednesday.  "We hope the relevant U.S. military activities will serve for the regional peace, stability and security, and not the contrary."

Last month, the Navy announced that all four of the Tomahawk-carrying subs were operationally deployed away from their home ports for the first time.  Each vessel packs "the firepower of multiple surface ships," says Captain Tracy Howard of Submarine Squadron 16 in Kings Bay, Ga., and can "respond to diverse threats on short notice."

More at the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800

As I typed above--not like Teh Wun.  What gives?

[Hawkgirl]

Hmmmm   

[Crazy Horse]

This is rather unlike Teh Obamessiah, don't 'cha think?

More at the link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800

As I typed above--not like Teh Wun.  What gives?

He had no idea and now Capt. Howard will be relieved of command

[thundley4]

Obama is trying to get China to withdraw it's backing of the US dollar.  He knows that will speed the collapse of our economy.

[NHSparky]

IIRC, they're doing "forward deployed" stuff like the boomers used to do in Holy Loch and Guam back in the 1960's and 70's.  The Florida was doing a crew swap in DG, IIRC.

[DumbAss Tanker]

My speculative answer is that it is indeed an intentional show of force, but intended for the Norks, not the ChiComs.  The role of the Chinese in this little drama will be to play the older-and-wiser brother, counseling Li'l Kim to back-the-F-off rather than have to deal with Tomahawks blowing up shit all over his country if he keeps acting the fool.   

[NHSparky]

The one in Pusan, perhaps.  Had all three of them been around any particular spot, the Norks or ChiComs might have had reason to be concerned.

Part of this is showing the flag, part of it is normal crew rotation.  Frankly, the article in question is written by the same type of people who get their panties in a wad by a carrier relief and suddenly think an attack on Iran is imminent.

Face it--if we wanted to play ball or shove the bat up an enemy's ass, we certainly wouldn't telegraph our punches like that.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Face it--if we wanted to play ball or shove the bat up an enemy's ass, we certainly wouldn't telegraph our punches like that.

That's true as far as it goes, but major naval units see vastly more use in demonstrations of force and freedom of navigation exercises than they'll ever see in launching surprise attacks.  The situations where we want to jam somebody hard without existing hostilities are tiny in number, the situations where we want to dissuade them early from actions that may eventually lead to open conflict, many.

[Randy]

How about a bit of different thinking on this. Last go round the Chicoms were firmly behind the Norks. Now the US pops up subs all around their end of the world and the Chinese stay quiet on it. this lets the Norks know they have no problem with so much US hardware in the area. The one popping up in Pusan being the one that lets everyone in the know as to exactly who the message is directed at.

[NHSparky]

That's true as far as it goes, but major naval units see vastly more use in demonstrations of force and freedom of navigation exercises than they'll ever see in launching surprise attacks.  The situations where we want to jam somebody hard without existing hostilities are tiny in number, the situations where we want to dissuade them early from actions that may eventually lead to open conflict, many.

The message is delivered, and the Chicoms, for all their building and all their sabre rattling know they can't even BEGIN to project power like we can.  Add to that the fact that the message was really, "Now you see them, now you don't," and I'm guessing things might quiet down there for a bit...but call me crazy, I'm guessing it would be EXTREMELY difficult for a T-hull to transit the Straits of Hormuz.  Our SSN's have had more than a couple of collisions transiting that area.  So if anyone is transiting into the Persian Gulf to drop off a few SEALs, it'll likely be an SSN, which limits the number you're dropping off.