Beijing. November 2. INTERFAX - Washington is not behaving responsibly in connection with the October 2 incident with the US Navy nuclear submarine USS Connecticut in the South China Sea and is withholding information, the Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday, citing Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
"We once again call on the United States to give a detailed report on this incident," he said at a briefing.
According to him, under the circumstances, the United States demonstrates a "lack of transparency and responsibility."
He stressed that Washington could not give a clear explanation of what happened, did not provide data on "the specific coordinates of the incident, whether it was the exclusive economic zone of another country or even territorial waters, whether there was a nuclear leak or whether damage was caused to the aquatic environment."
The US Navy nuclear submarine USS Connecticut collided with an unknown object in the South China Sea on October 2, as a result of which it was damaged. The damaged submarine entered the base on the island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean on October 8. A group of military specialists arrived there to inspect the damage, establish its source and resolve the issue of repair.
As the US Navy emphasized, after the incident, "the submarine is in a safe, stable condition," it was noted that its nuclear installation was not damaged. The US military clarified that it was not about a collision with another submarine, ship or aggressive actions of another country.
Subsequently, the US Navy reported that the unidentified object with which this nuclear submarine collided in the South China Sea on October 2 turned out to be a seamount.
However, the Hong Kong news site iNews previously reported that the nuclear submarine USS Connecticut most likely collided with an unknown Chinese underwater object. According to him, after the incident, the satellite recorded the submarine in a surface position on October 3, about 77 km from Yongxing Island, part of the Paracel Archipelago in the South China Sea. The island was controlled by the People's Republic of China in 1974. There is a Chinese base for submarines and a military airfield.
It is assumed that the submarine USS Connecticut was approaching the island to conduct reconnaissance, iNews noted. Submarines of this type, in addition to conducting combat operations, are also designed to perform reconnaissance functions.
It was noted that a collision with an underwater terrain could hardly have occurred. The US Navy, which constantly operates in the South China Sea, knows it well. Most likely, the submarine collided with a Chinese artificial underwater object recently created near Yongxing Island to counter the approaching enemy forces, the publication believes. The depth of the sea in the area of the island is only about 300 meters.
