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The authorities recognized it, but several days after the incident: an American nuclear submarine struck an “unknown object”.
While submerged in the waters of the Asia-Pacific region on October 2, the mysterious collision occurred which left several members of the US Navy injured.
It is not yet known what happened, but the submarine remained “fully operational”.
However, the place where it occurred, the dispute South china sea, and the little information that has come to light about the case has sparked an uproar from Beijing.
What is known?
Officials quoted by the US press, who have not been identified, reported that the collision occurred in international waters last Saturday.
They limited themselves to pointing out that the submarine USS Connecticut collided with an “unknown object” and that 11 crew members suffered “moderate” injuries that are not life threatening, according to the AP agency.
All were treated aboard the submarine.
They assured that the USS Connecticut had not collided with another submarine, but that it could be a boat, a sunken container or some other unknown object.
In a brief statement, the US Navy said the extent of the damage was still being assessed and that the nuclear power plant and the spaces of the submarine had not been affected.
What was the submarine doing there?
Authorities said the incident had occurred while the submarine was performing routine operations and that the Navy did not release the news until Thursday for operational security.
Alexander Neill, a Singapore-based security and defense expert, told the BBC that the number of injuries from the collision suggests the submarine he probably “ran into something big” and “was going really fast”.
China said the submarine was heading for the island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific.
The incident, he said, was “rare, but not unprecedented” in an area with a lot of military activity.
“The South China Sea is increasingly saturated with warships from several different countries. Although there has been a lot of show of force by surface ships, you don’t see the level of activity below. surface, ”explained Neill. .
USNI News, a website specializing in the US Navy, said the last known incident in which a submerged US submarine collided with another underwater object was in 2005.
On this occasion, the USS San Francisco crashed into a seamount at full speed near the island of Guam. A crew member died in the incident.
China’s response
After learning of the incident, Beijing expressed on Friday its “serious concern” about what happened and asked Washington for explanations.
The United States must clarify “the exact location of the incident, the intent of American shipping, the details of the incident, what the submarine collided with, whether it caused a nuclear leak and damaged the local marine environment “Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
“The United States has long caused unrest and tension in the South China Sea in the name of freedom of navigation, which is at the root of the incident and poses serious threats and significant risks to the sea. regional peace and stability, “the spokesperson said.
The official said he was forced to question Washington because, in his opinion, the details of the incident had been “deliberately” withheld.
Why is the South China Sea so contested?
USS Connecticut operated in one of the most contested regions in the world.
Beijing claims dominance over most of the South China Sea, but neighboring countries and the United States oppose it.
Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam They have challenged sovereignty over much of this maritime region for decades, but the tension has grown steadily in recent years.
The United States has supported many of these countries in this territorial dispute.
The incident comes just weeks after the deal was signed by the US, UK and Australia. Aukus, a historic security pact for the Asia-Pacific region seen by analysts as an effort to counter China.
Meanwhile, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told the BBC he was “deeply concerned” about actions that are undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the Taiwanese island from mainland China.
His remarks came after China sent a record number of military jets into Taiwan’s air defense zone for the fourth day in a row.
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