Russia to supply submarine tech to China to bridge gap with US, says top commander

A top US Navy commander has warned that Russia will share submarine technology with China to mount a joint challenge to the United States.

The remarks come amid ever-increasing convergence of Russia and China against the United States and the West. The two countries have effectively woven a bloc along with Iran and North Korea to undermine the West and create a new world order.

At a time when Russia has plunged Europe in the worst security crisis since the World War II and China has bared its hegemonic designs for the Indo-Pacific region with near-daily military aggression, US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Sam Paparo has said that the two nations are set to collaborate to boost underwater capabilities to bridge the gap with the United States.

“I expect Russia to provide submarine technology to the PRC [People’s Republic of China] that has the potential of closing American undersea dominance to the PRC,” said Paparo at a security conference in Canada, according to Washington Times.

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Paparo’s remarks come days undersea communication cables were found damaged in the Baltic Sea. A Chinese ship is suspected of having deliberately damaging cables at the behest of Russia. For more than a year, Russia is believed to be sabotaging undersea cables in Europe as part of its shadow war against Europe.

The United States is currently the dominant power when it comes to submarines, but China is catching up fast on the back of a robust military-industrial complex. Instead of building more submarines than the United States, China appears to be making more modern submarines with the idea of detecting US attack submarines which would be critical to any confrontation between the two sides.

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This becomes important in the context of Taiwan which China has vowed to unify with the mainland even with the use of force — leading to fears that an invasion may be on the cards in coming years. As land-based assets can be struck in aerial bombardment, the real edge in any confrontation would be with nuclear-powered submarines which patrol the oceans quietly and are very hard to detect.

Paparo also warned that Russia is expected to provide military technology to North Korea in exchange for support in the war on Ukraine.

Currently, there are up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers fighting for Russia in the war on Ukraine.

“I expect Russia to provide missile technology and submarine technology to North Korea,” said Paparo, according to Washington Times.

Western officials have also said that North Korea has provided missiles and ammunition to Russia for the war on Ukraine. The increasing partnership between the two nations would boost North Korean Supreme Leader King Jong-Un and destabilise the region, warned Paparo.

“North Korea is redefining the North Korean state in KJU’s image. He’s making enormous changes to the border, eliminating communications lines between north and south,” said Paparo.

As a result of the growing synergy between Russia, China, and North Korea, the United States are regional allies are sharing real-time intelligence within military and command networks which is fed into an integrated ballistic missile defence network, said Paparo.

As for the idea of driving a wedge between these three regimes’ union, Paparo said it would be a “fantasy”.