The US Department of Defense confirmed that a Chinese nuclear submarine sank in Wuhan, and Beijing refused to publicly address the matter. Meanwhile, a US submarine expert engaged in a war of words with the Chinese “internet celebrities” who provocatively challenged him on social media platforms.
On September 26th, US officials stated that the latest model of a nuclear-powered submarine from the Chinese navy sank at the Wuhan dock in the spring, but Chinese government officials have been covering up the incident.
Reportedly, the sinking incident occurred at the end of May or early June. This attack submarine is the first of the new Zhou-class warship series.
Several US media outlets reported that a senior US government official revealed, “China (The Chinese Communist Party) is trying to cover up the sinking of its new type of first nuclear-powered attack submarine at the dock, which is not surprising.”
Currently, the US has confirmed that a nuclear submarine sank, but it is unclear if the submarine had nuclear materials on board at the time of the sinking.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), during the routine press briefing at the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday, the spokesperson responded that they were not aware of the incident and did not provide any information.
The record of this question and answer was deleted from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement.
A specialist in analyzing satellite images of Chinese shipyards was the first to notice the blatant signs of the sinking.
Former US Navy submariner and current analyst at the New American Security Center, Thomas Shugart, stated that the sinking of the latest Chinese submarine is a “setback” for Beijing, bringing “considerable embarrassment” to the Chinese navy. However, he added that the security risks it poses might be “quite low.”
“I’ve never seen a group of cranes gathered in one place like that,” Shugart told CNN, “If you look back at historical pictures, you may see one crane, but not a group gathered there.”
Following the reports in the US media about the Chinese cover-up of the Wuhan submarine sinking incident, “internet celebrities” flooded Shugart’s personal social media account to engage in English provocations.
One notable figure among them was New Zealand citizen, Andy Boreham. He works in media in Mainland China and is employed by the official Chinese media outlet, Shanghai Daily, as one of the prominent individuals assisting Chinese official media in external propaganda efforts.
Responding to Boreham’s bold questioning, Shugart first corrected that “everyone reporting on this matter knows that Wuhan has not yet built nuclear submarines, but this is a new development indicating that China (The Chinese Communist Party) is significantly expanding its nuclear submarine production activities outside of Huludao Island.”
He mentioned that the rumors about China using “auxiliary nuclear power plants for power generation to adapt to conventional submarine designs” have been circulating for years, so Wuhan’s involvement in submarine construction is not surprising.
Regarding attempts by some individuals to use the low water level of the Yangtze River to argue that submarines could not reach Wuhan, and hence deducing that the foreign reports of the submarine sinking are fake, Shugart responded, “Everyone knows the water level of the Yangtze River is low, that is why submarines built there over the years are sent downstream by barge.”
“The new submarine is only about 10% longer than previous submarines, and its size is not significantly different from past Chinese nuclear-powered attack submarines, so there is no reason to believe that it is not possible to transport (it by barge).” He further added that China is known for its expertise in dredging.
Furthermore, attempts by some individuals to use “crane shadows” to confuse the situation were pointed out by Shugart. He stated that he had issued a correction to this when he first raised the question of the Wuhan submarine sinking in July but some people persisted in clinging to this topic.
In conclusion, Shugart retorted to Boreham, saying the quickest way to resolve the issue is for China to publicly showcase the missing submarine.
“Ultimately, this is a story that Chinese state media (and its followers) can immediately dispel: show us this ship. We’ve searched meticulously all possible locations, but its distinctive outline has vanished from satellite images since then.” Shugart wrote.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Shugart stated, “Can you imagine if a US nuclear submarine sank in San Diego, and the government covered it up, not telling anyone? Wow, that would be unbelievable!”
He mentioned that even if the submarine is salvaged, it would take several months before it can go back to sea.
“The entire ship will be flooded,” Shugart told The Wall Street Journal, “You have to clean all electronic equipment. Electric motors might need to be replaced. This work will be quite arduous.”