China's newest nuclear submarine has sunk in dock, US officials confirm China

China's efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the United States have suffered a major setback after its newest, state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.

The incident occurred last May or June at the Wuchang shipyard near Wuhan – the same city where the Covid-19 pandemic is believed to have originated – and came to light thanks to satellite images despite attempts by the country's communist authorities , to stage a camouflage -high.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters that the Zhou-class ship – the first of a new breed of Chinese submarines and distinctive for its X-shaped stern that facilitates maneuverability – is believed to have sunk next to a pier.

It is not known whether there were any casualties – or whether the submarine had nuclear fuel on board at the time, although experts said this was likely, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the story. The submarine was eventually recovered, but it is expected that it will be many months before it can set sail.

American officials say they have no evidence that Chinese authorities have checked the water or surrounding area for radiation.

There was no comment on the incident from the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the official name of the Chinese armed forces.

The Journal reported that the first indication that something unusual was happening came over the summer when Thomas Shugart, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a former U.S. submarine officer, noticed irregular activity from floating cranes – the He had seen satellite images on the ship – on social media.

Shugart suspected that there might have been an accident involving a submarine, but did not know that it was a nuclear submarine.

“Can you imagine a US nuclear submarine sinking in San Diego and the government covering it up and telling no one? I mean, holy cow!” Shugart said.

The unnamed U.S. defense official told Reuters that the incident and the wall of silence that surrounded it raised serious doubts about the Chinese military's competence and accountability.

“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,” he said. “It is not surprising that the PLA Navy would try to hide something.”

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said they had no information to provide. “We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and cannot provide any information at this time,” the official told Reuters.

According to a Pentagon report on China's military, as of 2022, China had six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines. According to the US Department of Defense, the number of submarines is expected to grow to 65 by 2025 and to 80 by 2035.

The Pentagon report said the goal of developing the new submarines, along with surface ships and naval aircraft, is to counter U.S. efforts to come to Taiwan's aid in a conflict and to establish “maritime superiority” on an island chain establish, which stretches from the Japanese archipelago to the South China Sea.

“The sinking of a new nuclear submarine manufactured in a new shipyard will slow China's plans to expand its nuclear submarine fleet,” Brent Sadler, senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation think tank, told the Journal. “This is significant.”