US submarine hit by unidentified object in China Sea

A US nuclear submarine struck an unidentified object while patrolling the South China Sea this weekend.

The information was relayed by the US Navy and an independent source.

" 

struck an object in the afternoon of October 2 while sailing in immersion," the US Navy said in a statement.

"There is no fatal injury," the document adds, suggesting that sailors may have been slightly injured.

A disputed region

The

, a Seawolf-class nuclear-powered submarine, was damaged but remains serviceable.

According to the Naval Institute, a think tank close to the US Navy, the craft was participating in an international naval exercise in the South China Sea at the time of the incident.

This maritime region is widely claimed by China.

The Middle Empire built military outposts there on small islands and atolls in the region.

The United States and its allies regularly patrol the region's international waters to assert their rights to free navigation, much to China's dismay.

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