Dance With the One That Brought You: Revitalizing Antisubmarine Warfare to Counter Chinese Diesel Submarines

摘要

Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) is a key tenet of U.S. force protection and cannot be neglected, especially in East Asia. The U.S. Navy needs to revitalize ASW, or risk losing the ability to gain sea control in strategic areas of the East Asian Littoral and South China Sea due to a rising Chinese diesel-electric submarine threat. The Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) is planning for a future showdown with the U.S. Navy and is heavily invested in countering aircraft carrier battle groups and derailing American power projection inside the first island chain. The global economy has put harsher requirements on merchant ships than ever before. Any disruption in sea traffic would have dire consequences and access must be assured to global markets during regional conflicts. Many of the world's busiest sea-lanes pass through areas that the Chinese want to influence. An unchecked ASW threat in any of these areas would threaten the global economy as well as the synchronization of joint planning and the time phased force deployment plans in an East Asia contingency.