U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander: China's chip-for-submarine deal poses serious threat to global hegemony

[Army and Weapons Subsection] Author: Golden Bomber The technical exchanges between North Korea and Russia have made the United States speculate wildly. The U.S. then also speculated that there might be similar "deals" between China and Russia. Recently, Samuel Paparo, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, spoke at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, claiming that China provides 70% of the machine tools and 90% of the chips to Russia. In return, China may obtain key technologies for Russian nuclear submarines, and he stated that this transaction between China and Russia poses a serious threat to America's national security.  ▲Imaginary illustration of the Type 096 nuclear submarine, Image source: Internet Needless to say, Samuel Paparo's so-called "national security" essentially refers to America's "global hegemony." The technical cooperation between China and Russia is a "voluntary act" between two sovereign nations. Whether it exists or not has nothing to do with the U.S. However, the U.S. monitoring the relationship between China and Russia as if "peeping" indicates its own "uneasiness." The Associated Press and Bloomberg extensively reported on this matter and criticized it, which contains elements of "stirring up trouble," and we must be highly vigilant. Does the U.S. side have any evidence for its claims? In fact, Commander Paparo's statements are largely based on some public data, which can be considered to have some basis. For example, according to reports by the Financial Times, in 2023, China accounted for 60% to 70% of Russia's global imports of machine tools, and the share may increase further in 2024, possibly reaching over 80%. These are mainly numerical control machine tools, which the West believes can be used to produce components for tanks and missiles. However, the problem is that these transactions themselves are not arms trade, and the main reason for the increase in China-Russia machine tool trade is the strong sanctions from the West. Under massive sanctions, Russia was forced to accelerate its "eastward focus"—by 2024, the total trade volume between China and Russia had reached $240 billion, and machine tools and chips are just part of it.  ▲Samuel Paparo, Image source: Internet Moreover, China has already fulfilled its regulatory obligations, having earlier issued the "Regulations on the Export Control of Dual-Use Items," which regulate items that can be used to produce both civilian and military products, preventing them from being used to design, develop, or produce military products, especially weapons of mass destruction and their delivery vehicles. Therefore, the chips and machine tools exported to Russia are merely ordinary product trading activities. Commander Paparo directly accused China of helping Russia "rebuild its war machine," which is clearly an unfair statement. As for whether Russia provides submarine technology to China, the main news comes from reports by U.S. Defense News and others. Their articles suggest that China still has room for improvement in submarine and nuclear submarine quieting technology and may acquire technology by providing Russia with urgently needed equipment. This claim lacks substantial evidence and can only be considered speculation. The U.S. reasons behind such speculation are twofold: first, Sino-Russian naval cooperation is relatively close. For instance, in 2024, China and Russia conducted the "Ocean-2024" military exercise, focusing on coordinated operations between warships.  ▲"Ocean-2024" Military Exercise, Image source: Internet At that time, Russia deployed more than 400 warships, submarines, auxiliary vessels, and 120 military aircraft from its Pacific Fleet, Northern Fleet, Baltic Sea Fleet, and Caspian Sea Fleet, with a total force of over 90,000 personnel. It was the largest-scale military exercise activity since Russia's independence over 30 years ago, and it was held simultaneously across five seas for the first time. China sent four submarines to cooperate with Russia's Pacific Fleet, including the Type 055 destroyer Wuxi, Type 052D destroyer Xining, Type 054A frigate Linyi, Type 903 replenishment ship Taihu, and 15 military aircraft. China and Russia practiced anti-submarine warfare, air defense, protection of maritime communications, and economic zones, enhancing military cooperation and mutual trust. On the other hand, in terms of submarines, Russia indeed helped China quite a bit in the past, for example, selling China "Kilo-class" submarines in the 1990s. However, the U.S. overlooked one crucial point: Russia considers the most critical nuclear submarine-related technologies as absolute state secrets and is unwilling to easily disclose them. For instance, the cost of a single Russian 885M-type nuclear submarine exceeds $2 billion. To obtain related technologies for this submarine, Russia would require significant benefits. Moreover, Russia knows that China's nuclear submarine technology is progressing rapidly, and certain key technologies are absolutely "non-sellable." China cannot obtain these through machine tools alone; the price is far too low.  ▲Russian 885M-type nuclear submarine, Image source: Internet It is not surprising that Samuel Paparo had such thoughts, as the theme of this Senate meeting was to review the budget of the Indo-Pacific Command. In 2026, the command received $15 billion, primarily targeting potential military threats from China, Russia, and North Korea. As the commander, Paparo’s duty required him to exaggerate the high level of threat posed by these three countries. Whether joint military exercises or technological exchanges, they are all directions he chose to attack. The Indo-Pacific Command has 380,000 personnel and hundreds of ships. Paparo needs to prove to Congress that the budget is necessary and that the money is spent very reasonably. Additionally, creating a sense of urgency is essential to secure higher funding for the next fiscal year. If Paparo said "China and Russia pose no threat," it would mean "there is enough money," and Congress does not need to approve additional funding, which would be strange if his colleagues did not criticize him. Clearly, in the military field, "China threat" is a particularly useful借口, but using it too much loses its effectiveness. Thus, a new approach is needed. "Strengthened Sino-Russian cooperation" has now become another new theme to persuade the congressional lords. Original article: [https://www.toutiao.com/article/7492643558093832767/](https://www.toutiao.com/article/7492643558093832767/) Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views. Please express your opinions by clicking the "Like/Dislike" buttons below.