Washington, November 13, 2006 (PTI)

A Chinese submarine, equipped with torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles, stalked a US aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean last month and surfaced within firing range of its missiles before being detected, a media report said on Monday.

The Chinese Song-class diesel-powered attack submarine shadowed the Kitty Hawk undetected and surfaced within five miles of the carrier on October 26, The Washington Times quoted defence officials as saying without disclosing their names.

The surfaced submarine was spotted by a routine surveillance flight by one of the carrier group's planes, the newspaper said, adding the Kitty Hawk battle group includes an attack submarine and anti-submarine helicopters that are charged with protecting the warships from submarine attack.

The submarine encounter with the USS Kitty Hawk also is an embarrassment to the commander of US forces in the Pacific, Adm William J Fallon, who is engaged in an ambitious military exchange programme with China, said.

The Kitty Hawk and several other warships were deployed in ocean waters near Okinawa at the time, as part of a routine fall deployment programme, the officials said, adding Chinese submarines rarely have operated in deep water far from Chinese shores or shadowed US vessels.

Both Pacific Command and Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the incident, saying details were classified.