Lyle Goldstein, an expert on China’s military at the Asia Center at Brown University, said China has used diesel submarines to spread out its “A2/AD line”— standing for “Anti‑Access/Area‑Denial” designed to keep an opponent outside an area and limit their movements within it.
Submarines are one of the few weapons that can get into and around A2/AD areas, Goldstein said. But in a combat scenario, they would be called on to carry a disproportionately large share of the fighting if other Navy ships are kept outside the zone.
“While these submarines could do damage to the Chinese Navy, they probably lack sufficient firepower to affect the overall outcome of a war,” Goldstein wrote for Defense Priorities, a think tank that touts its focus on “reality and restraint.”
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