President Trump shows off US military assets

US President Donald Trump appears to have revealed some US military secrets to his Philippine counterpart during a phone call in April.

The incident took place before the US leader made a gaffe on issues related to Russia.

According to Sputnik, when President Trump praised President Rodrigo Duterte for the "incredible work" the Philippine leader has done to end the drug trade in this Southeast Asian country, the head of the White House accidentally revealed the secret that the US military's nuclear-armed submarine is currently present in the Philippines area.

During the brief call, Mr Trump boasted about US military assets in the region. "We have a lot of firepower there. We have two submarines - the best in the world."

Then, seemingly unaware that he was revealing US military secrets, Mr Trump said: "We have two nuclear submarines."

According to experts, when participating in secret missions, only sailors and captains know the location and readiness level of nuclear-equipped submarines, while others, even government leaders and the Pentagon, do not know.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Trump was talking about nuclear-powered submarines or nuclear-armed submarines.

Business Insider quoted military expert Stephen Schwartz as saying that the US currently maintains 4 or 5 nuclear-armed submarines in some areas. The ships are always in a state of readiness, just waiting for the order to launch a nuclear weapon.

According to Vietnamnet.vn