Chinese sub 'stalked' US aircraft carrier

A top US naval commander said today that an incident in which a Chinese submarine came close to the USS Kitty Hawk carrier group in the Pacific Ocean could have escalated into an “unforeseen” situation.

The aircraft carrier and its supporting ships were conducting exercises in an unidentified location when the incident happened last month, Admiral William Fallon, the commander of US Pacific Command, said.

The carrier group was not engaged in anti-submarine exercises, but if it had “and if this Chinese sub came in the middle of this, then it could have escalated into something that could have been very unforeseen”, he said.

Fallon, who is in Kuala Lumpur for a 23-nation Chief of Defence Forces meeting, did not give any other details.

He was commenting on a report in the Washington Times’ website that said a Chinese submarine “stalked” the Kitty Hawk and surfaced within torpedo firing range.