Satellite imagery showed that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine has sunk alongside a pier while under construction, a senior US defence official has said.
China’s first Zhou-class submarine likely sank between May and June, when satellite images showed cranes that would be necessary to lift it off the bottom of the river, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about the submarine loss.
China has been building up its naval fleet at a breakneck pace and the US considers China’s rise one of its main security concerns.
Beijing has not acknowledged the sinking and the official said it was “not surprising” that China’s navy would conceal it.
The submarine’s current status is unknown.
The sinking was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
