China has been packaging Hainan as a new Hawaii with its sparkling beaches lined by hotels patronised by western expatriates, Russian package tours, and China’s new middle-class, said the newspaper.

The deployment of the Jin class submarine at Hainan may motivate India to speed up its indigenous nuclear submarine project that has been in the making for the past decade. The Indian Navy is looking at inducting five indigenous ATV nuclear submarines. However, sea trials for the first sub are set to begin only by next year. In the meantime, India is leasing an Akula II nuclear attack submarine from Russia next year to initiate the training process for its personnel.

Of late, several photographs and satellite images of Chinese nuclear submarines and naval facilities have come to light, raising speculation that Beijing is subtly showing off its increasing military prowess. In October last year, several Chinese websites carried photographs showing off its latest Jin class submarine. The first clear photographs gave experts an insight into the capabilities of the vessel.

A month earlier, the Shang (Type 093) class attack submarines were unveiled through a photograph and an article in the state-run People’s Daily newspaper. The Shang and Jin class are replacements for the first generation Han class nuclear submarines that China developed over two decades ago.