China’s naval ambitions suffer severe setbacks as a senior U.S. defense official has revealed that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Zhou-class, sank while under construction. According to satellite imagery, the incident reportedly occurred between May and June this year.
“Satellite images showed cranes that would be necessary to lift the submarine off the bottom of the river,” the official, who spoke anonymously, stated. The Zhou-class submarine was being built at a shipyard near Wuhan, a key site for China’s naval development.
The U.S. defense community has been closely monitoring China’s rapid naval expansion, viewing it as a potential future security concern. “China has been building up its naval fleet at a breakneck pace,” the official added. The sinking of the Zhou-class submarine marks a rare publicized failure in China’s otherwise aggressive military modernization efforts.
Beijing has not acknowledged the incident, and the official noted that it was “not surprising” that China’s navy would conceal such a mishap. The submarine’s current status remains unknown, and there is no information on whether it had nuclear fuel on board at the time of the sinking.
The incident was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and has since raised questions about the safety and reliability of China’s burgeoning nuclear submarine program. “The submarine’s current status is unknown,” the official reiterated.
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