China on Friday expressed concerns about a US submarine that hit an unknown object in the South China Sea.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian urged the US to provide details, its purpose of cruising, and whether it caused a nuclear leak or damaged the marine environment, Chinese state media Global Times reported.
A US Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine --USS Connecticut --collided with an unknown submerged object last Saturday while travelling through international waters in the Pacific Ocean, confirmed the Navy.
"The Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) struck an object while submerged on the afternoon of Oct. 2, while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region," said a statement from the Navy's Pacific Fleet.
The accident happened amid rising tensions between the US and China over the Chinese military's incursions into Taiwan's Air Defense Integration Zone (ADIZ).
According to CNN, the Connecticut was operating in the waters around the South China Sea as the US and its allies have been carrying out a major multinational show of force in the region, known as Carrier Strike Group 21.
The ongoing exercise saw ships from the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands, including three aircraft carriers, training in and around the area, as per CNN.
( With inputs from ANI )
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