A Chinese attack submarine used the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Reagan as the target of a simulated cruise missile attack several weeks ago. The close encounter, which could potentially lead to renewed volatility between the U.S. and China, has allegedly been kept under wraps by the Obama administration in order to avoid upsetting the delicate military relations between the Pentagon and the People's Liberation Army, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
The incident, which happened near the Sea of Japan in October, violated China's 2014 commitment to the multinational Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), which is designed to prevent skirmishes between naval vessels.
Though official word regarding the details of the incident are scarce, several legislators on Capitol Hill, including Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services subcommittee on sea power, have voiced very grave concerns, reports News Max.
"If true, this would be yet another case of China trying to show us that they can hold our forces in the region at risk," Forbes said.
"Coming on the heels of anti-satellite tests and other demonstrations, this latest incident should be a reminder of the destabilizing course that China is on and the challenges we face in maintaining a stable military balance in the Asia-Pacific region," he added.
China has become a quickly developing military power, spending hundreds of billions of dollars in modernizing its military over the past few years. With the Chinese Navy taking a huge part of the government's investment, military experts have stated that China has emerged as a real threat to American dominance in the Pacific region's waters, according to Value Walk.
For more World news, click here.
