The News
A new Chinese nuclear-powered submarine sank at a shipyard near Wuhan earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal reported, in an apparent setback to the country’s expanding naval ambitions as it seeks to exert authority over the South China Sea.
Beijing had not disclosed the incident, which seemingly took place in late May or early June, according to the Journal.
China has been striving to catch up to the US in undersea technology: A Pentagon report last year said that China was rushing to develop new attack submarines and naval craft in anticipation of US efforts to help Taiwan should a conflict arise.
The US Navy released a new navigation plan last week that called for faster ship and submarine fixes and the adoption of robotic systems to prepare for a potential war with China by 2027. The US Navy is focusing on “dealing with a China that is building serious capabilities,” the US naval chief said earlier this month.
Meanwhile, India — which recently launched its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine — is also aiming to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific, but it significantly lags behind China’s far superior submarine capabilities, a former Indian naval officer told the South China Morning Post.