China are to deploy nuclear submarines to the Pacific Ocean for the very first time, in a move that risks escalating an arms race with the U.S. Chinese military officials are refusing to comment, but it is thought they were left with no choice after the U.S. expanded its missile defence operation in the disputed South China islands region. Foxnews.com reports: The report comes days after U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he had lifted a decades-long arms embargo against Vietnam. Chinese officials publicly praised the move, but an opinion piece in a state-run newspaper warned that any attempt to enlist Vietnam in an effort to contain China “bodes ill for regional peace and stability, as it would further complicate the situation in the South China Sea, and risk turning the region into a tinderbox of conflicts.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry responded Monday by saying that it was China’s actions in the South and East China Seas that could create a tinderbox. “I would caution China to not unilaterally move to engage in reclamation activities and militarization of islands,” he said. The Pentagon says China has reclaimed more than 3,200 acres of land in the South China Sea and is developing and [...]