China’s Noisy Subs Get Busier — And Easier to Track

The military’s latest secret assessment of China’s rapidly modernizing submarines has good news and bad news for the U.S. Navy.

On one hand, the roughly 60 submarines in the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) fleet are spending more and more time on combat-ready patrols — signaling China’s increasing naval competence and growing seriousness about influencing the western Pacific Ocean.

On the other hand, the flurry of undersea activity gives American forces more opportunities to tail and examine Chinese subs. And U.S. analysts discovered a silver lining in the gathering strategic storm clouds.

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