Washington Reveals Cause of Nuclear Submarine Incident in South China Sea
2 Min Read
The official spokesperson for the US Seventh Fleet, Hayley Sims, says that the investigation was concluded last week, and indicated that the results of the investigation are scheduled to be studied by the commander of the US Seventh Fleet, Admiral Karl Thomas.
-
The Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Connecticut (US Navy)
The US Navy revealed today the cause "of the collision of the US nuclear submarine Connecticut, which collided on October 2 with an unknown object in the South China Sea.
US 7th Fleet spokesperson Cmdr. Hayley Sims told USNI News in a Monday afternoon statement, “The investigation determined USS Connecticut grounded on an uncharted seamount while operating in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region.” It should be noted that the US 7th Fleet operates in the Western Pacific and Indian oceans.
According to a legislative source and two defense officials familiar with the findings, the results of the command investigation into the October 2 incident, which was completed last week, have now been forwarded to US 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas for review. Thomas will determine if there will be any additional accountability actions over the incident.
The accident had raised concerns about a possible leak of nuclear fuel, prompting China to object and accuse the United States of withholding information about what happened.
Chinese FM spokesperson: The US should inform the relevant details about the incident
During a press briefing held on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian expressed Beijing's deep concern over the accident. The Pentagon had confirmed that the investigation and US media revealed that it had taken place in the South China Sea.
The Spokesperson had said that the US "should inform the relevant details including the location, purpose of this navigation, details of the accident and what did the submarine run into and whether any nuclear leakage has taken place and whether the local maritime environment was harmed."
He also held the United States responsible for concealing the details of the incident and the delay in making any clarifications in this regard over several days.
