China's plans to modernize its military and expand its navy hit a snag, US officials said, when its newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank at a shipyard when construction was nearly complete. The accident took place in late May or early June near Wuchan, the Wall Street Journal reports, and China tried to cover it up. The submarine could be seen in satellite photos alongside a pier on the Yangtze River in late May, when it was undergoing its final equipping before heading to sea. In early June, large floating cranes were brought in to salvage the submarine from the river bed, the photos show.
"Usually, those submarines, after they get launched, they're there at the shipyard for several months in outfitting," an expert told CNN. "And it wasn't there anymore." The vessel was the first of China's new Zhou-class line, US defense officials said. The new design includes a distinctive X-shaped stern to improve maneuverability underwater. US officials said they don't know if the sub had nuclear fuel aboard when it sank; other experts said it probably did.
The expansion is part of the military's attempt to shrink the US edge in undersea technology. The Congressional Research Service forecasts China will have 65 submarines next year and 80 in 2035 as it increases its construction capacity. That was before the new sub sank. The loss will hurt China's expansion efforts, said Brent Sadler of the Heritage Foundation, adding, "This is significant." (More Chinese military stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
