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Chinese authorities have demanded many “details” about a collision involving a US nuclear submarine in the South China Sea, which Beijing cited as continuing to argue against US military operations in a region that the rising Communist power seeks to dominate. .
“We are gravely concerned about the incident,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters, according to the official transcript. “As the party involved, the United States should clarify in specific details what happened, including the exact location of the incident, the navigation intent of the US side, the details of the incident, the object the submarine struck, whether the collision caused a nuclear leak or damaged local marine environment, etc.
Officials from the US Pacific Fleet revealed that the USS Connecticut “struck an object while submerged” last Saturday and said the submarine “remains in a safe and stable condition.” This incident, which occurred just weeks after the announcement of a historic agreement between the United States and the British government to supply Australia with nuclear submarines, brought water to the China’s broader objection to US and Allied operations in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
“It’s just kind of a classic Chinese line, isn’t it, where they try to make the case that US operations in the South China Sea are inherently risky and dangerous,” said Zack Cooper of the American Enterprise. Institute at the Washington Examiner. “The fact that this is a nuclear attack submarine means they have a little but more reason to try and criticize this at this time, given the AUKUS deal.”
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The South China Sea is a vast and important waterway that Beijing is trying to claim as sovereign Chinese territory at the expense of several neighboring states with the shores of the South China Sea.
“The United States has long created unrest in the South China Sea in the name of ‘freedom of navigation’, posing a serious threat and major risks to regional peace and stability,” Zhao said at the briefing. . “The United States and the United Kingdom recently decided to conduct nuclear submarine cooperation with Australia, a non-nuclear weapon state, and are blatantly proliferating nuclear submarines in Asia Pacific. … The likelihood of a nuclear incident will also increase dramatically.
Australia has sought out the nuclear submarines as part of a military build-up designed to counter growing threats from China, which has built man-made islands in the South China Sea and deployed military assets to these outposts. . American and European states have increased their military presence in the region to emphasize that they are not acquiescing to Beijing’s legal claims, which were rejected by an international tribunal.
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“The nuclear power plant and spaces of the USS Connecticut have not been affected and remain fully operational,” said officials of the Pacific Fleet. “The extent of the damage to the rest of the submarine is being assessed.”
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Key words: News, Foreign policy, National security, China, Nuclear submarine, Energy and environment, South China Sea
Original author: Joel gehrke
Original location: China requests information on whether US submarine collision “caused nuclear leak”
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