Taiwan denies reports that a Chinese nuclear sub has crashed near the Taiwan Strait

As reports circulate that a Chinese nuclear submarine crashed near the disputed Taiwan Strait, officials in Taiwan downplayed the reports.

According to reports, a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Type 093 (Shang class) of the People’s Liberation Army had a major accident, killing all on board.

The reports come just days after China launched military exercises near Taiwan as a “severe warning.”

There has been no official confirmation of the accident or any deaths among the Chinese officials aboard the ship.

Defense Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said the country’s joint intelligence and surveillance apparatus did not uncover any evidence of a submarine crash in the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the defense ministry said. Taipei times.

Li-fang announced that the Ministry of National Defense is closely monitoring “all maritime and air activities around the Taiwan Strait.”

The Taiwan Strait is a disputed 180-kilometer arm of the Pacific Ocean that separates mainland China and Taiwan.

The Type 093 submarine, known as the ‘Shang class’, has a displacement of 6,096 tons when submerged and can reach speeds of up to 56 km/h.

According to Naval News, it can accommodate a crew of 100 and has unlimited range due to nuclear propulsion.

The reported incident comes just days after China conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan.

Last week, a division of China’s People’s Liberation Army, which oversees the Taiwan Strait, released video showing its troops conducting a coastal invasion of the self-governing island.

The Army’s Eastern Theater Command published the clip, featuring a montage of soldiers storming beaches and driving tanks down dirt roads, while playing a country-style Chinese ballad.

The song in the video and accompanying WeChat post were littered with evocative lyrics and phrases like “go over the city gate and the high wall” and “no matter how dark it is, don’t be afraid… hunt and win.” the warmest years’.

The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as a renegade province to be brought back under Beijing’s control — something authoritarian President Xi Jinping has said he is prepared to do by force.

But the Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party steadfastly claims to preside over a self-governing, democratic, capitalist society with overwhelming popular support.

It comes as Russia and China launched warships to conduct patrols in the Pacific Ocean and conduct rescue training and counter-air strike exercises.

A video released by Russia’s state news agency TASS showed nine large ships sailing in a diamond formation as crew members stood at attention on deck.

The exercises also included practicing ships’ “replenishment of fuel reserves and transferring cargo en route,” the defense ministry said, adding that the joint detachment of ships had covered more than 6,400 nautical miles since the exercises began.

“A detachment of ships from the Russian Navy and the PLA Navy is currently operating in the waters of the East China Sea,” the ministry said, referring to China’s People’s Liberation Army.

“During this period, the sailors of the two countries conducted anti-submarine exercises, repulsed an aerial attack from a fake enemy, conducted rescue training at sea and perfected the skills of helicopter take-off and landing on the decks of warships,” the spokesman said. read statement.

Ties between Moscow and Beijing have grown closer in recent years as protracted fighting in Ukraine has disrupted Russia’s relationship with Western governments.

A spokesman for China’s defense ministry said on Monday that naval fleets from the two countries are conducting maritime patrols in the western and northern regions of the Pacific.

“These actions are not against any third party and are not related to the current international and regional situation,” the spokesperson added.

Last month, Taiwan itself held military and civilian exercises to prepare for conflict as tensions with Beijing continue to mount.

Han Kuang’s defense exercises have been held annually since 1984, but this year’s war games were more intense than ever before.

In a flagrant display of force ahead of Taiwan’s exercises, China sent 37 aircraft and seven naval vessels around the island, according to the Defense Ministry in Taipei.

They included J-10 and J-16 fighters and H-6 bombers, and 22 of the fighters detected crossed the centerline of the Taiwan Strait – an unofficial border that was considered a buffer between the island and the mainland – or entered the skies of Taiwan. defense identification zone.

In June, a Chinese warship came within 500 feet of a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait, days after the Pentagon said it would not accept “bullying” by Beijing.