Beijing: Expressing serious concern over the submarine nuclear-powered US suffered damage in the South China Sea issue, China demanded Washington to disclose details and the location of the accident and blamed the air atmosphere and the American navy in the Indo-Pacific to affirm “freedom of navigation” as ” root cause “of events.
USS Connecticut hit an underwater object in the South China Sea on Saturday.
Eleven sailors on the submarine were injured in the accident.
None of the injuries were life-threatening, a statement from the US Pacific Fleet said on Thursday.
It is not clear what might be struck by seawff class submarine when it is submerged.
“The submarine remained in stable and safe conditions.
Factories and USS Connecticut space nuclear propulsion was not affected and remain in full operation,” the US Navy statement said.
Asked for his reaction, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhao Lijian said: “China is very concerned about the incident”.
“When the parties involved, the US should clarify the specific details of what happened, including the exact location of the incident, the intention of navigating the US side, details of the incident, the object submarine hit, whether the collision caused the leakage of nuclear or marine environment locally damaged, etc., “said Zhao.
He alleges that the US has long made the problems in the SCS in the name of “freedom of navigation”, which pose a major threat and a big risk for the peace and stability of the region.
“This is the root cause of this incident,” he said.
“China and other countries around the South China Sea can not help but ask what really happened and what the US intentions,” he said.
The spokesman also used the opportunity to criticize the Alliance Aukus Security announced by the US, UK and Australia.