By Citadel | 2024-11-01

The sinking of one of China's newest nuclear-powered attack submarines near a pier along the Yangtze River has sparked scrutiny of China's purported military advancements.

The incident, which took place in spring this year, was not made public by Chinese authorities. Details emerged only after commercial satellite imagery captured suspicious activity in the area, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on September 26.

The attack submarine was one of the first of China's new Type 041 Zhou-class line of vessels, which have a distinctive X-shaped stern designed to improve its ability to maneuver underwater.

Commercial satellite images from March 10 showed the submarine under construction in Wuhan, but later imagery in June showed that it did not return to the pier.

Analysts instead saw floating cranes over the site near the Yangtze River pier, in what appeared to be an operation to salvage the submarine.

Chinese officials said they were "not familiar" with the incident.

"It's not surprising that the PLA [People's Liberation Army] Navy would try to conceal the fact that their new first-in-class nuclear-powered attack submarine sank pier-side," a senior US defense official told the WSJ.

"In addition to the obvious questions about training standards and equipment quality, the incident raises deeper questions about the PLA's internal accountability and oversight of China's defense industry, which has long been plagued by corruption."

A questionable track record

This incident marks yet another challenge for China's defense industry, which has been accused in the past of producing flawed equipment.

Countries such as Pakistan and Thailand, which have procured Chinese-made military hardware, have previously encountered operating problems, ranging from malfunctioning systems to fragility in real-world conditions.

Beijing has attempted to push inferior military equipment to mixed results.

China's equipment lures in purchases with cut-rate pricing but imposes hidden costs when gear malfunctions, according to an analysis in June 2023 from the RAND think tank.

Some of the problems include countries' technological incompatibility with Chinese military equipment, lack of personnel with the expertise and training to solve problems, and difficulty acquiring spare parts, the RAND report said.

In Africa, Chinese military equipment sales "appear driven by profit and trying to grab market share from Russia," according to RAND.

China's reputation for subpar quality appears to be harming its sales.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released data in March showing a 23% decrease in China's arms exports between the four-year periods of 2013-2017 and 2018-2022.