As reports circulate that a Chinese nuclear submarine crashed near the disputed Taiwan Strait, officials in Taiwan downplayed the reports.
A Type 093 (Shang-class) nuclear-powered attack submarine of the People’s Liberation Army was reportedly involved in a serious accident, killing all on board.
The reports come just days after China launched military exercises near Taiwan intended to serve as a “strong warning”.
There is no official confirmation of the accident or any fatalities from Chinese officials on board the ship.
Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said the country’s joint intelligence and surveillance apparatus Tuesday found no evidence of a submarine crash in the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taipei Times.
Unconfirmed rumors that a Chinese nuclear submarine has crashed near the disputed Taiwan Strait are circulating on the Internet (file photo).
The Taiwan Strait is a disputed 180-kilometer arm of the Pacific Ocean separating mainland China and Taiwan
According to reports Tuesday, a Type 093 (Shang-class) PLA nuclear-powered attack submarine had a serious accident, killing all on board
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been accused of escalating cross-strait tensions in recent months
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured) is seen on a trip to the United States. The Taiwanese military claimed there was no evidence of a collision with a Chinese submarine and Beijing had not confirmed the accident
Li-fang announced that the Defense Ministry is closely monitoring “all sea and air activities around the Taiwan Strait.”
The Taiwan Strait is a disputed 180-kilometer arm of the Pacific Ocean separating mainland China and Taiwan.
The Type 093 submarine, known as the “Shang Class”, has a submerged displacement of 6,096 tons and can reach speeds of up to 56 km/h.
According to Naval News, it can accommodate a crew of 100 and has unlimited range due to its nuclear propulsion.
The reported incident came just days after China held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.
Last week, a division of the People’s Liberation Army of China that patrols the Taiwan Strait released a video that appears to show its troops practicing a coastal invasion of the self-governing island.
The Army’s Eastern Theater Command released the clip, which shows a montage of soldiers storming beaches and driving tanks down dirt roads, to a country-style Chinese ballad.
The Taiwanese military claimed there was no evidence of a collision with a Chinese submarine and Beijing had not confirmed the accident
This incident came just days after China launched military exercises near Taiwan intended to serve as a “strong warning”.
According to the Defense Ministry in Taipei, China sent 37 planes and seven naval vessels around the island last week in an open show of force ahead of Taiwan’s drills
The song in the video and the accompanying WeChat post were peppered with evocative lyrics and phrases like ‘Go over the city gate and the high wall’ and ‘No matter how dark it is, don’t be afraid…hunt and win the warmest years’.
The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought back under Beijing’s control — which authoritarian President Xi Jinping is prepared to do by force.
But Taiwan’s elected Democratic Progressive Party steadfastly claims that it presides over a self-governing, democratic, capitalist society with overwhelming popular support.
It comes at a time when Russia and China are using warships to conduct patrols in the Pacific Ocean and conduct rescue training and anti-aircraft drills.
Video released by Russia’s state news agency TASS showed nine large ships sailing in a diamond formation while crew members on deck stood at attention.
The drills also included practicing “ships replenishing fuel reserves and transporting cargo en route,” the Department of Defense said, adding that the joint ship detachment had covered more than 6,400 nautical miles since the drills began.
China sent dozens of warplanes, including warplanes and bombers, to Taiwan, the island’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday, July 22, 2023 (FILE PHOTO: Chinese J-10 Warplanes)
The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be brought back under Beijing’s control
“A detachment of ships from the Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy is currently deployed in the waters of the East China Sea,” the ministry said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army of China.
“During this period, the sailors of both countries conducted anti-submarine drills, repelled an airstrike by a pseudo-enemy, conducted rescue training at sea and perfected helicopter take-off and landing skills on the decks of warships,” the statement read.
Relations between Moscow and Beijing have grown closer in recent years as ongoing fighting in Ukraine has rattled Russia’s ties with Western governments.
A spokesman for China’s Defense Ministry said Monday that the naval fleets of both countries were conducting sea patrols in the western and northern regions of the Pacific Ocean.
“These measures are not directed at third parties and are not related to the current international and regional situation,” the spokesman added.
Over the past month, Taiwan has been conducting its own military and civilian conflict preparation exercises as tensions with Beijing continue to rise.
The Han Kuang Defense Exercises have been held every year since 1984, but this year’s war games were more intense than ever.
According to the Defense Ministry in Taipei, China sent 37 aircraft and seven naval vessels around the island in an apparent show of force ahead of exercises in Taiwan.
Among them were J-10 and J-16 fighters and H-6 bombers, and 22 of the spotted fighter jets crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait — an unofficial boundary that acted as a buffer between the island and the mainland — or entered the Air Taiwan’s Defense Identification Zone.
In June, a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait came within 150 meters of an American destroyer, just days after the Pentagon said it would not tolerate “bullying” by Beijing.