Chinese submarine tragedy killed its 55 sailors: Intelligence leak
A malfunction on a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine resulted in the deaths of 55 sailors, reported The Times, citing a "leaked British intelligence report." The report titled "China kills own sailors with trap set for US and British vessels" claimed that the event took place in the Yellow Sea on August 21 when the submarine got caught in a trap designed for American and British vessels. China has dismissed the claims, while the UK government declined to confirm the intelligence leak.
Submarine caught in its own forces' seabed defenses: Report
The submarine allegedly ran out of oxygen near Shandong province, north of Shanghai, after getting trapped in seabed defenses set up by the Chinese navy to ensnare US and allied submarines. However, the report noted that Taiwan has also denied the loss of any submarine in the Yellow Sea. Notably, China claims Taiwan as its own. However, the latter calls itself an independent island nation, which the UK parliament officially acknowledged for the first time in August.
Death caused by lack of oxygen: Report
The report said, "The submarine hit a chain and anchor obstacle used by the Chinese navy...This resulted in system failures that took six hours to repair and surface the vessel. The on-board oxygen system poisoned the crew after a catastrophic failure" It quoted unnamed British intelligence officials as saying, "Our understanding is death caused by hypoxia (lack of oxygen) due to a system fault on the submarine."
Know more about China's submarines
The report said the intelligence was highly classified and is "likely to result in a leak inquiry." Whispers of the incident involving the Shang-class submarine started making the rounds on social media over a month ago. China currently operates six Type-093 submarines—a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines quieter than previous versions, which have been used for the past 15 years. They have a displacement of 6,096 tons and are armed with 553-mm torpedoes.
China mocks Taiwan's first indigenous submarine
Meanwhile, Taiwan unveiled its first Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS), with a displacement of 2,700 tons, last week. It plans to build eight such submarines to pose a challenge to China, reported ANI. However, China's Ministry of National Defense spokesperson, Senior Colonel Wu Qian, mocked Taiwan's submarine by calling it "a broom attempting to hold back the tide." Qian said that irrespective of how many weapons Taiwan builds, they will "not be able to stop the general trend of national reunification."
