Wuhan, again: Beijing is embarrassed as the Chinese nuclear submarine sinks!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: One of China’s state-of-the-art nuclear-powered attack submarines sank near Wuchang Shipyard, Wuhan, about three to four months ago, the media quoted a senior US defense official as saying on Thursday, in what could potentially be a huge embarrassment for Beijing which is trying to further expand its military capabilities.
Founded in 1934, the Wuchang Shipyard is located in Wuhan City, which gained global notoriety in 2020 as the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the largest, modern shipyard in inland China and the most productive of all the conventional-powered submarine-making shipyards
China already has the largest navy in the world, with over 370 ships, and is racing to manufacture a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines.
The US defense official said China’s new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier sometime between May and June.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said they had no information to provide. “We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide.”
The US official said it was not clear what caused the nuclear submarine to sink or whether it had nuclear fuel on board at the time.
“In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defense industry – which has long been plagued by corruption.”
“It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the sinking,” the US official added.
Speaking in Taipei on Friday, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said authorities “have a grasp of the situation through multiple intelligence and surveillance methods,” but did not elaborate.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, keeps a close watch on the latter’s military activities. In June, pictures appeared online of a Chinese nuclear submarine surfacing in the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese submarine news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
A series of satellite images from Planet Labs from June appear to show cranes at the Wuchang shipyard, where the submarine would have been docked.
As of 2022, China had six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines, according to a Pentagon report on China’s military.
That submarine force is expected to grow to 65 by 2025 and 80 by 2035, the U.S. Defense Department said.
On Wednesday, China said it had successfully conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the Pacific Ocean, a move likely to raise international concerns about the country’s nuclear buildup.
The United States and China held theater-level commander talks for the first time earlier this month, amid efforts to stabilize military ties and avoid misunderstandings, especially in regional hot spots such as the South China Sea.
