The Chinese submarine skipper “commanded the submarine to use tactics to silently approach the formation…. Like an underwater sniper, Huang Donghai quietly took aim at the opponent, successfully organizing and carrying out a simulated attack,” the news agency reported.

Also over the East China Sea, a Chinese J-10 jet threatened a US reconnaissance flight by flying dangerously close on June 7. The threatening action is part of Chinese military efforts to thwart increased US intelligence-gathering against the Chinese in the region.

On the intelligence-gathering front, China’s spies scored impressive victories. Several Chinese agents were caught buying or stealing valuable defense-related information through cyber attacks and other operations.

One of the most significant cases was revealed in March when a Chinese businessman, Su Bin, pleaded guilty in a US court in Los Angeles of conspiracy to hack computer networks of American defense contractors and steal valuable jet fighter secrets. The hack led to the lost of secrets on the F-22 and F-35 jet fighters, and details of the C-17 military transport aircraft.

“Our adversaries’ capabilities are constantly evolving, and we will remain vigilant in combating the cyber threat,” FBI Assistant Director Jim Trainor said after the plea was reached.

A Florida court case in August resulted in a prison term for a Chinese-born woman, Wenxia Man, on charges of conspiracy to export export-controlled items to China, including jet engines for F-35s, F-22s and F-16s, as well as an attempt to send China a Reaper drone – one of the military’s frontline unmanned aircraft. The attempted exports were thwarted by authorities.

The Pentagon’s Joint Staff J-2 intelligence directorate also warned in October that China’s Lenovo computer manufacturer was seeking to infiltrate the military’s supply chain with compromised computers that could permit remote access by Chinese hackers.

For the US military, one of the most significant intelligence disclosures was revealed by the vibrant Chinese military enthusiast website — not from spies or cyber intrusions into Chinese networks.

The disclosure in March revealed a construction plans for a major buildup on Scarborough Shoal, one of the disputed Spratly Islands located strategically close to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where the US military was planning a buildup of forces under an enhanced US-Philippines defense agreement.

A graphic for the construction bid showed Chinese plans to deploy guided missile frigates at the shoal – located some 150 miles from Subic Bay.

US military officials said other intelligence officials said Scarborough is the third location in the Spratlys for a triangle of military bases.

US Rep. Randy Forbes (R., Va.) said of the Scarborough Shoal disclosures: “China’s strategy in the South China Sea is clear, and has been for some time: They intend to use coercion and force to reshape the region in accordance with their preferences, regardless of international law or norms.”

In July, the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled against China in its island dispute with the Philippines, effectively nullifying China’s expansive claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea that are legally international waters.

Yet the United States government failed after the ruling to agitate effectively that the court ruling at undermined China's maritime territorial claims.

This first appeared in AsiaTimes here.

Image: Creative Commons.