Sunset at South China Sea
Beijing: Expressing its “grave concern”, China today asked the USA for clarifications whether there was any nuclear leak after the War Zone column of the US military website, The Drive, on October 22, published an article along with a high resolution satellite image of the American nuclear submarine USS Connecticut taken on October 20, 18 days after its underwater collision in the South China Sea on October 2, 2021.
The website mentioned that the US Navy had remained tight-lipped as to what the nuclear submarine hit in the South China Sea and the damage that was done. The report claimed the Seawolf class nuclear fast-attack submarine was stable and its reactor was safe to operate, and that it had “limped” from the South China Sea, back to the U.S. naval facility in Guam, where the damage would be assessed and the accident investigated.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian today said that as of now, “we have seen nothing but a brief and vague statement issued by the US military with procrastination, and a confirmation by a so-called informant that the incident did happen in the South China Sea”. He added: “Such an irresponsible, cagey practice gives regional countries and the international community every reason to question the truth and the intention of the US.”
China accused the US of stirring up troubles in the South China Sea under the guise of “freedom of navigation”, posing serious threats and major risks to the peace and stability in the region for a long time.
Lijian said: “It’s justified for China and other littoral states of the South China Sea to ask the US to answer the following questions: What was USS Connecticut up to do secretively in the South China Sea this time? What did it collide with? Why did that collision happen? Was there a nuclear leak that creates nuclear contamination in the marine environment?”
China claimed that as the party directly involved, the onus was on the US to give a detailed explanation in response to the concerns and doubts of regional countries and the international community.
China also stressed that the South China Sea was where all countries in the region call home, not a hunting ground for the US to pursue geopolitical interests.
“The US has frequently sent a large number of military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea to make provocations, stir up troubles and flex muscles. Such moves have undermined the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and threatened China and other countries’ sovereignty and security, making the US the biggest force for militarization of the South China Sea,” it claimed.
China further warned the US that it should change its course and stop such erroneous acts, and play a positive role in upholding peace and stability in the South China Sea.
– global bihari bureau
