A senior US defense official has said in a Wall Street Journal bombshell report that China's newest highly touted and cutting edge nuclear-powered submarine has sank at a shipyard near Wuhan. It was to be the newest sub to join China's fleet of six nuclear-powered attack subs.
The sinking, which reportedly occurred in either May or early summer, constitutes a serious setback for the People's Liberation Army which has rapidly sought to expand its naval power and technology. President Xi has for years been overseeing a modernization of the PLA Navy.
The US official has further said China is seeking to cover up the incident. "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," the senior US defense official, who remains anonymous, told the WSJ.
"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 defense industry -- which has long been plagued by corruption," the official said.
Satellite photos by Planet Labs appear to confirm that the submarine sank. The WSJ report details further, "The Zhou-class vessel that sank is the first of a new class of Chinese nuclear-powered subs and features a distinctive X-shaped stern, which is designed to make the vessel more maneuverable."
"The sub was built by China State Shipbuilding Corp., a state-owned company, and was observed alongside a pier on the Yangtze River in late May when it was undergoing its final equipping before going to sea," the report continues.
Large floating cranes have been observed engaged in a salvaging mission at the site. Something else of concern is whether or not it was carrying nuclear fuel at the time of the sinking, with analysts cited in the WSJ saying that yes it was 'likely'.
Neither the Chinese government nor the PLA military have commented on the loss of the sub, and are unlikely to.
Regional tensions have soared given the US has recently inked a controversial defense deal to bolster Australia’s naval defense amidst Western nations’ mounting anxiety over China’s military expansion.
The agreement centers on the US selling Australia three U.S. Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines, projected to be delivered in 2030s, and two more at a later point if needed.
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Beijing has sharply criticized the move, saying it was encouraging an arms race. Increasingly Russia and China have patrolled Pacific regional waters together in order to flex their collective muscle against the US and its allies.