China Freaked: U.S. Navy ‘Surfaced’ Multiple Missile Subs at Once As a Message

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Key Points and Summary: In 2010, the U.S. Navy surfaced three Ohio-class guided missile submarines simultaneously in strategic locations near China, showcasing their capabilities amidst growing regional tensions.

-Each submarine carried 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, highlighting their role as silent, versatile tools of deterrence.

-The surfacing, described by the Navy as a “coincidence,” was widely seen as a message to China during a period of ballistic missile tests in the East China Sea.

-This rare display aligned with U.S. strategic, operational, and tactical goals in the Indo-Pacific. However, under President Trump’s renewed focus on diplomacy and economic strategies, such actions are unlikely to recur.

Why Did U.S. Navy Submarines Surface in 2010? A Strategic Show of Force

The U.S. Navy keeps the locations of its submarines top secret. The fast attack guided missile submarines (SSGNs), and the “boomers” that fire nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles (SSBNs) are the jewels of the crown that remain silent, deadly, and deep almost all the time.

They rarely come to the surface. Sometimes, allowing the subs to come out of hiding is necessary so the enemy can get a peek.

Now You See Us – Now You Don’t

That’s what happened in 2010 when the Navy decided to allow U.S. adversaries a glimpse into its undersea warfare secrets. Three Ohio-class SSGNs surfaced that year surfaced at the same time. In June 2010, the USS Ohio appeared in the Philippines’ Subic Bay.

The USS Michigan was next to surface in South Korea around Pusan, then the USS Florida came up to the top of the waves in the Indian Ocean near Diego Garcia. 

Bigtime Weapons of War

Each of the Ohio-class SSGNs carried 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles. That’s a total of 462 instruments of death that can be launched from anywhere in the world. The Ohio-class boats also can deploy U.S. Navy SEALs and insert them in exotic locations allowing them to deliver doom to the enemy.

At the time, the United States was upset that China had been testing ballistic missiles in the East China Sea, plus other provocations. The United States wanted to display just how their deadly subs were moving ceaselessly in the region.

Was This Just a Coincidence? 

The Navy said at a time that the submarines’ surfacing tactic was only a “coincidence,” and the Chinese took it in stride. 

“At present, common aspirations of countries in the Asian and Pacific regions are seeking for peace, stability and regional security,” Baodong Wang, spokesman for the Chinese embassy, said in 2010. “We hope the relevant U.S. military activities will serve for the regional peace, stability and security, and not the contrary.”

What Do I Mean by Strategy, Operations, and Tactics?

Submarines are a large part of strategy, operations, and tactics in the Indo-Pacific as it relates to the activities of the Chinese. Strategy is the overall mission of U.S. forces in the region. This would mean deterrence and “peace through strength.” The military is only one aspect of the strategy against China. There are also the diplomatic, political, and economic dimensions of strategy. Intelligence and information technology are also part of the strategy.

Operations or operational art are the deployment of forces and what they hope to accomplish. This would mean how the U.S. submarines operate and what they aim to do against China. This could consist of trying to prevent an attack or blockade against Taiwan or keeping freedom of navigation and sea lines of communication open. Tactics would be how the Navy decided to surface the three submarines and where they did it.

How would China receive this? Is the show of force tactically sound, and does it fit into strategy and operations?

The 2010 episode checked all the boxes having to do with strategy, operations, and tactics. Strategy often changes when new presidents come to office. Barack Obama, the President at the time, used gambits called “strategic patience” or “leading from behind.” During his first term, President Donald Trump focused more on the political and economic aspects of strategy against China.

Trump or His Admirals Are Not Likely to Order Subs to Surface

Expect more of the same from Trump starting this month after the inauguration. The Trump national security team is full of China hawks, but the President may want to focus more on diplomacy and economics through trade and tariffs rather than surfacing submarines.

I don’t see another similar action, such as giving away submarines’ locations under Trump. He does not want to antagonize Xi Jinping. He is looking to conduct diplomatic engagement and economic coercion.   

Trump wants to achieve peace through strength, and that will mean building more submarines but not doing anything provocative with his military in East Asia. There is even a question of whether he would defend Taiwan during a Chinese invasion or blockade.

That would mean the submarines would continue to patrol to collect intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance data but not fire their conventional cruise and ballistic missiles and definitely not use nuclear weapons from boomer subs.

U.S. submarines are thus instruments that can send messages and execute strategy, operations, and tactics, but that doesn’t mean engaging in all out warfare against China. A show of force can’t hurt but Trump may use the subs to achieve peace through strength and not as an active weapon of war against Xi Jinping’s military.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood 

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.