China will deploy submarines later this year that will be armed with nuclear tipped missiles capable of reaching Alaska or Hawaii, USNI News reports.
The report is based on an assessment released in January by the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI).
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Jin-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine is set to begin patrols in 2014 — armed with the PLAN’s new Ju Lang 2 (JL2), ONI Senior Intelligence Officer Jesse Karotkin told the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission in late January.
"With a range in excess of 4000 [nautical miles], the JL-2 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM), will enable the JIN to strike Hawaii, Alaska and possibly western portions of CONUS from East Asian waters," Karotkin said in written testimony to the commission. […]
The missile has been under development by the Chinese for more than a decade.
China is apparently trying to mimic the capabilities of Western nations such as the United Kingdom and France.