China building hypersonic-armed submarine to counter US defenses in Philippines

By Robert Stanley | 2025-02-26

China is building a new submarine that's capable of launching hypersonic missiles designed to destroy US-supplied missile systems in the Philippines and potentially carry nuclear warheads, reports say.

The new Chinese submarine may be aimed at countering the US Typhon missile launchers installed last April on Luzon island in the Philippines, The Defense Post reported on February 24, citing a publication linked to the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, which is a supplier to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

The US military deployed the Typhon missile system in the northern Philippines last year as part of an annual joint exercise. Filipino troops have been training with it, with plans to acquire the system as a means to protect Manila's maritime interests.

The launchers can fire short-range multi-purpose SM-6 missiles, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit targets in Russia and China, and Chinese military bases that have sprung up recently on rocks and sandbars in the South China Sea.

'Cover strikes'

The new submarine, under construction in Wuhan, would be able to fire from great distances and possibly destroy the Typhon launchers, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported February 23, citing the same news item in Chinese-language publication Naval & Merchant Ships.

With the new submarine designed to carry advanced hypersonic missiles, it will allow the PLA to "conduct covert strikes from beyond enemy defenses, with the additional option of deploying nuclear warheads if required," it added.

The new submarine was first seen in satellite images in the middle of last year, and reports say it appears to incorporate advanced technologies, including a vertical launch system for cruise and anti-ship ballistic missiles as well as an X-shaped tail fin for better agility and stability.

According to The Defense Post, the Chinese-language report says the new submarine would play a key role in keeping US carrier groups beyond the so-called first island chain, which extends from Japan to the Philippines and is seen by the United States as a key defensive barrier against the Chinese navy.

The PLA has not confirmed that the larger class of submarine is under development, the report said.

War of words

The report on the submarine comes after China's leader Xi Jinping on February 22 signed three new orders designed to increase his military's readiness and focus on "engaging in warfare," the Chinese government's State Council Information Office said on its website.

The new rules are "designed to fully transform the country's military into world-class armed forces, focusing on combat readiness," it added. "The revisions to the regulations prioritize combat readiness as the foremost duty, with a fundamental orientation of preparing for and engaging in warfare."

The deployment of the Typhon launchers during a joint US-Philippines exercise last April eventually launched a war of words between Beijing and the Manila.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun warned that Beijing will "not sit idly by" if its security interests are threatened and he urged the Philippines to "change its course," GMA News reported February 12.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. responded that he would consider sending the Typhon missiles back to the United States if Beijing stopped its provocations over parts of the South China Sea that China has recently claimed as its own territory.

"Let's make a deal with China: Stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen, stop ramming our boats … and I'll return the Typhon missiles," AFP reported Marcos as saying.

Confrontations in South China Sea

In January, Philippines National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the launchers will stay on Philippine shores "for now," Reuters reported.

The launchers are part of longstanding US-Philippines defense ties, the report cited Philippines armed forces spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla as saying.

"The primary objective of this deployment is to strengthen Philippine military readiness, improve our familiarization and interoperability with advanced weapon systems, and support regional security," Padilla said.

China has been building up its navy to secure its control over the South China Sea and adjacent areas of the Pacific Ocean and confrontational moves by Beijing have heightened tensions with the Philippines and other countries in the region.

In December, the Philippines said the Chinese coast guard used water cannon and "sideswiped" a government fisheries department vessel.

Then in late February the Philippine coast guard said a Chinese navy helicopter came "within 10 feet" (three meters) of a surveillance plane carrying journalists over the contested Scarborough Shoal.

The Scarborough Shoal -- a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the South China Sea -- has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012.