Chinese nuclear submarine sinks, raising military capability doubts
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a U.S. Department of Defense official, that a new Chinese nuclear-powered submarine sank this year. The WSJ assesses that this could potentially be a problem for Beijing, which is striving to enhance its military capabilities.
Reuters highlights that China, which already has the largest navy in the world with over 370 ships, has begun the production of a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines.
A Pentagon official, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that the first such Chinese submarine sank between May and June. It is unclear what caused the sinking or whether it had nuclear fuel on board at the time.
It’s not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pierside. In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA’s internal accountability and oversight of China’s defence industry, which has long been plagued by corruption - the official assessed.
A series of June satellite images from the global network Planet Labs appear to show cranes at the Wuchang shipyard, where the submarine could have been docked.
According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that there is no information to share.
According to the Pentagon report in 2022, China had six nuclear-powered submarines with ballistic missiles on board, six nuclear-powered attack submarines, and 48 diesel-powered submarines. Beijing's submarine fleet is anticipated to increase to 65 by 2025 and 80 by 2035.
Powers are arming up massively
In a year, nuclear powers spent £68 billion on nuclear armaments - according to data published on Monday by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons ICAN. The United States allocated by far the most money to this purpose.
Over the past five years, the US, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea have collectively spent £290 billion on nuclear armaments.
