New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank during construction, US defense official says

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New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank during construction, US defense official says

2024-09-27 17:23 Last Updated At：17:30

WASHINGTON (AP) — Satellite imagery showed that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday.

The sinking of China's first Zhou-class submarine represents a setback for Beijing as it continues to build out the world's largest navy. Beijing has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, which is crucial to international trade.

Meanwhile, China faces longtime territorial disputes involving others in the region including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The United States has sought to strengthen ties to its allies in the region and regularly sails through those waters in operations it says maintains the freedom of navigation for vessels there, angering Beijing.

The 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 condition of anonymity to provide details about the submarine loss.

China has been building up its naval fleet at a breakneck pace, and the U.S. considers China’s rise one of its main future security concerns.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday he was not familiar with the topic and did not provide any information when asked about it at a Beijing press conference.

The U.S. official said it was “not surprising” that China's navy would conceal it. The submarine's current status is unknown.

The identification of the sunken nuclear submarine was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Thomas Shugart, a former U.S. Navy submariner and an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, first noticed the incident involving the submarine in July, though it wasn’t publicly known at the time that it involved the new Zhou-class vessel.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a submarine docked at the Shuangliu shipyard on the Yangtze River before the incident.

An image taken June 15 appears to show the submarine either fully or partially submerged just under the river’s surface, with rescue equipment and cranes surrounding it. Booms surround it to prevent any oil or other leaks from the vessel.

A satellite image taken Aug. 25 shows a submarine back at the same dock as the submerged vessel. It's not clear if it was the same one.

It remains unclear if the affected submarine had been loaded with nuclear fuel or if its reactor was operating at the time of the incident. However, there has been no reported release of radiation in the area in the time since.

China as of last year operated six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines, according to a U.S. military report.

News of the submarine's sinking comes as China this week conducted a rare launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into international waters in the Pacific Ocean. Experts say it marked the first time Beijing had conducted such a test since 1980.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Ex-Defense Minister Ishiba chosen to lead Japan's ruling party, setting him up to be prime minister

2024-09-27 17:13 Last Updated At：17:20

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week.

The party leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s governing coalition controls parliament.

Considered a defense policy expert, Ishiba secured a come-from-behind win against Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who hoped to become the country’s first female prime minister.

The LDP, which has enjoyed nearly unbroken rule since World War II, may have seen Ishiba's more centrist views as crucial in pushing back challenges by the liberal-leaning opposition and winning voter support as the party reels from corruption scandals that drove down outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's popularity.

After his victory was announced, Ishiba stood up, waved and bowed repeatedly. “I will devote all my body and soul to making Japan a safe and secure country where everyone can live smiling,” he told lawmakers.

Ishiba is expected to call a general election to try to capitalize on his win, but it is unclear when.

Ishiba has proposed an Asian version of the NATO military alliance and a more equal Japan-U.S. security alliance, including having Japanese Self Defense Force bases in the United States. He is a supporter of Taiwan’ s democracy. He also advocates the establishment of a disaster management agency in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Ishiba, first elected to parliament in 1986, has served as defense minister, agriculture minister and in other key Cabinet posts, and was LDP secretary general under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

But he has long been viewed with wariness by powerful conservatives in his party. The 67-year-old former banker was running in the party leadership race for a fifth time and had said this was going to be his “final battle.”

A hawk on defense issues, Ishiba has riled some party leaders by supporting measures to improve gaps between men and women and legalizing same-sex marriage.

A record nine lawmakers, including two women, ran in the vote decided by LDP members of parliament and about 1 million dues-paying party members. That’s only 1% of the country’s eligible voters.

Some experts believe that party turmoil could mean that Japan will return to an era similar to the early 2000s, which saw “revolving door” leadership changes and political instability.

A succession of short-lived governments hurts Japanese prime ministers' ability to set up long-term policy goals or develop trusted relations with other leaders.

On Tuesday, Kishida and his Cabinet ministers will resign. Ishiba, after being formally elected in a parliamentary vote, will then form a new Cabinet later in the day.

Kishida congratulated Ishiba on his victory and said his election is the first step for a new LDP.

“The LDP will be reborn, and will live up to the people's expectations and achieve results,” he said. As Japan faces security tensions in the region and elsewhere, Japan must step up its own defense power and its ties with the United States, he said.

The main opposition group, the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has struggled to build momentum despite the LDP scandals. Experts say its newly elected leader, centrist former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, is pushing a conservative shift for the party to attract swing voters.

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