The US Navy's Seawolf-class nuclear-powered submarine, the Connecticut, collided with an unidentified object in the South China Sea on the 2nd.
The U.S. Navy said the incident occurred during the operation on the high seas and there were no serious injuries that could threaten human life.
The submarine is in safe condition and nuclear propulsion facilities are not affected, he added.
The crash was revealed on the 8th, six days after the accident.
U.S. Navy officials said the Connecticut was headed for Guam after the accident, but the announcement was delayed to maintain operational security.
The Associated Press reported that two crew members suffered moderate injuries and nine suffered minor scratches or bruises.
There is no further explanation as to what the unidentified object was or how the accident occurred.
China claims sovereignty over the South China Sea.
Naturally, we are the most sensitive to this incident.
Spread of "Hangsanggi Farm Collision" on social media... China's state-run media "low possibility"
On the 11th, a post along with a picture was uploaded on Weibo, a Chinese social media. This article is citing a report from a French news agency, stating that 'a yellow bird farm facility in the deep sea of the South China Sea collided with an unidentified object and 25,000 kilograms of yellow bird and cultured fish escaped.' He even mentioned the name of a specific company called 'China South Sea Aquaculture and Fisheries Co., Ltd.' Chinese netizens immediately linked it to a US submarine collision. It was said that it was none other than this farm facility that the submarine collided with. Rumors spread quickly. Some netizens commented on the size and depth of the farm facility and said that there was a sufficient probability that it collided with a submarine, while others raised their voices that the United States should compensate the company for damages. There was even a mockery post saying that such aquaculture facilities should be installed in various places to block the access of US submarines. Furthermore, some Chinese media started mass-producing articles introducing these articles.
Finally, the Chinese state-run media came out.
A Chinese CCTV military channel reporter met and interviewed aquaculture producers in Hainan Province, near the South China Sea.
"In Hainan Province, yellow algae is not farmed, and the farm facilities are usually installed in shallow waters."
It was also said that the farm facilities were installed only 20 km of the coastline.
In a nutshell, the chances of a submarine collide with an algae farm facility are very low.
The state-run Global Times also helped.
The French news agency reported that Weibo's article quoted said that the content could not be found, and the company called 'China South Sea Aquaculture and Fisheries Co., Ltd.' was also unclear.
Even the Chinese authorities seemed to be too absurd about the 'Hwangsanggi Farm Collision'.
"America must have made a foolish mistake"... China's foreign ministry says the US should reveal the truth
Instead, Chinese state-run media raises the possibility that the US submarine may have made a 'silly mistake'. The Global Times, citing a military expert, said, "It is more likely that a US submarine struck an artificial reef, such as a wreck or cement reef, rather than a farm facility. . Seawolf-class nuclear-powered submarines, such as the Connecticut, use passive sonars and switch to sonars for attack maneuvers or when navigating complex underwater terrain. The CCTV military channel also said that submarine navigation is not easy in the South China Sea because of the complex and constantly changing seabed topography. "The Seawolf-class nuclear-powered submarines use weapons-grade highly enriched uranium that is different from the industrial enriched uranium used in nuclear power plants," he said. I warned you.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also continuing its offensive every day.
At a regular briefing on the 8th, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian criticized the U.S. and Britain's decision to promote cooperation with Australia on nuclear submarines, saying, "The US military's 'freedom of navigation' operation in the South China Sea is the root cause of the accident."
'Freedom of navigation' refers to an operation in which the US military has dispatched warships to guarantee the free navigation of ships when China asserts sovereignty over the South China Sea and has conflicts with Vietnam and the Philippines.
On the 11th, Spokesperson Zhao Lijian also set a day for the U.S. to clarify where the nuclear submarine accident occurred, whether the nuclear material leaked and destroyed the marine environment, and whether the accident could affect navigation safety and fisheries. .