Newest nuclear submarine sank near Wuhan, Chinese authorities tried to cover it up

(Patria) - China's newest nuclear-powered submarine sank in the spring, a major setback for one of the country's priority armament programs, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The incident, which Chinese authorities tried to cover up and which has not been reported in the media so far, occurred at a shipyard near Wuhan in late May or early June, reports Index.hr.

The incident occurred at a time when China is seeking to strengthen its navy, including its fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

The Pentagon recently identified China as its main long-term challenge, and US officials say Beijing is using political and military pressure to try to pressure Taiwan, an island that Beijing claims as part of Chinese territory.

China, on the other hand, says its goal in creating a top-tier military is "deterring aggression" and "protecting overseas interests." A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy did not respond to WSJ's inquiry about the submarine sinking.

The US does not know if the submarine contained nuclear fuel at the time of sinking, but US experts said it was likely.

Submarine technology has long been an area where the US has had a significant advantage, but China is making strong efforts to reduce that gap.

China is working to diversify its production of nuclear-powered submarines.

Production was concentrated in the northeastern city of Huludao, but China is now shifting nuclear-powered submarine production to the Wuchang shipyard near Wuhan.

At the end of 2022, Beijing had 48 diesel-powered submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines, according to a Pentagon report released last year on China's military power.

The report states that China's goal in developing new submarines, ships, and naval aircraft is to counter the efforts of the US and its partners to come to Taiwan's aid during a potential conflict, i.e., to achieve naval supremacy from the Japanese archipelago through Taiwan and the Philippines to the South China Sea.

The Zhou-class submarine that sank near Wuhan is the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered submarines and has a distinctive X-shaped stern designed to facilitate maneuvering.

The submarine was built by the state-owned company China State Shipbuilding Corp. After the sinking, large floating cranes arrived in early June to lift the submarine from the riverbed.

"The sinking of a new nuclear submarine produced at a new shipyard will slow down China's plans to increase its nuclear submarine fleet," says Brent Sadler, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based think tank and retired US Navy officer.

Neither Chinese authorities nor the Chinese military have acknowledged the submarine sinking, nor have they released any information about it, according to the WSJ.

"It is not surprising that the Chinese Navy tried to cover up the fact that their new nuclear submarine sank at the pier," said a senior US Department of Defense official.

The first indication that something was wrong at the shipyard near Wuhan appeared in the summer when Thomas Shugart, a former US submarine officer and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, published a series of posts on social media highlighting unusual activity of floating cranes captured by commercial satellites.

Shugart speculated that an incident involving a new type of submarine might have occurred, but at the time, he did not know it was nuclear-powered.

"Can you imagine a US nuclear submarine sinking in San Diego, and the government keeping it quiet and not telling anyone? Good grief," Shugart told the WSJ.

US officials have not revealed any indications that Chinese officials sampled water or the surrounding environment for radiation.

It is possible that Chinese personnel were killed or injured when the submarine sank, but US officials say they do not know if there were any casualties.