US Officials Call China's Nuclear Powered Submarine Sinking At Pier

Chinese submarine illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Took-ranch at the English-language Wikipedia)

JAKARTA - China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank earlier this year, a senior US defense official said on Thursday.

A senior US defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the first nuclear-powered attack submarine in his class belonging to China sank beside the pier between May and June.

The official said it was unclear what caused the ship to sink or whether there was nuclear fuel in it at the time.

"In addition to clear questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about PLA's internal accountability and oversight of China's defense industry that has long been plagued by corruption," the official said, using an acronym for the People's Liberation Army.

"It's no surprise that the PLA Navy will try to hide" the sinking of the ship, the official added.

Separately, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington said they had no information to provide.

"We are not aware of the situation you mentioned and currently do not have any information to provide," the Chinese official said.

News of Chinese submarines was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

A series of satellite images from Planet Labs from June appeared to show cranes at the Wuchang shipyard, where the submarine would dock.

It is known, China currently has the largest navy in the world, with more than 370 ships and has started producing new generation nuclear-armed submarines.

In 2022, the Bamboo Curtain Country has six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines, according to a Pentagon report on the Chinese military.

The submarine power is expected to increase to 65 by 2025 and 80 by 2035, the United States Department of Defense said.