China’s new nuclear submarine sank during construction, U.S. says

Satellite imagery showed that China’s newest nuclear-powered onslaught submarine sank alongside a pier while nether construction, a elder U.S. defense charismatic said Thursday.

The sinking of China’s first Zhou-class submarine represents a setback for Beijing arsenic it continues to build retired nan world’s largest navy. Beijing has go progressively assertive successful pursuing its declare to virtually nan full South China Sea, which is important to world trade.

Meanwhile, China faces longtime territorial disputes involving others successful nan region including Brunei, Malaysia, nan Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The United States has sought to fortify ties to its friends successful nan region and regularly sails done those waters successful operations it says maintains nan state of navigation for vessels there, angering Beijing.

The submarine apt sank betwixt May and June, erstwhile outer images showed cranes that would beryllium basal to assistance it disconnected nan bottommost of nan river, said nan official, who said connected information of anonymity to supply specifications astir nan submarine loss.

China has been building up its naval fleet astatine a breakneck pace, and nan U.S. considers China’s emergence 1 of its main early information concerns.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday he was not acquainted pinch nan taxable and did not supply immoderate accusation erstwhile asked astir it astatine a Beijing property conference.

The U.S. charismatic said it was “not surprising” that China’s navy would conceal it. The submarine’s existent position is unknown.

The recognition of nan sunken atomic submarine was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Thomas Shugart, a erstwhile U.S. Navy submariner and an expert astatine nan Center for a New American Security, first noticed nan incident involving nan submarine successful July, though it wasn’t publically known astatine nan clip that it progressive nan caller Zhou-class vessel.

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Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show what appears to beryllium a submarine docked astatine nan Shuangliu shipyard connected nan Yangtze River earlier nan incident.

An image taken June 15 appears to show nan submarine either afloat aliases partially submerged conscionable nether nan river’s surface, pinch rescue instrumentality and cranes surrounding it. Booms situation it to forestall immoderate lipid aliases different leaks from nan vessel.

A outer image taken Aug. 25 shows a submarine backmost astatine nan aforesaid dock arsenic nan submerged vessel. It’s not clear if it was nan aforesaid one.

It remains unclear if nan affected submarine had been loaded pinch atomic substance aliases if its reactor was operating astatine nan clip of nan incident. However, location has been nary reported merchandise of radiation successful nan area successful nan clip since.

China arsenic of past twelvemonth operated six nuclear-powered ballistic rocket submarines, six nuclear-powered onslaught submarines and 48 diesel-powered onslaught submarines, according to a U.S. subject report.

News of nan submarine’s sinking comes arsenic China this week conducted a uncommon motorboat of an intercontinental ballistic rocket into world waters successful nan Pacific Ocean. Experts opportunity it marked nan first clip Beijing had conducted specified a trial since 1980.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.