The Ministry of National Defense yesterday confirmed a Japanese newspaper report that a Chinese submarine had broken down while sailing near the Pratas (Tungsha) Islands.
The Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported that a Chinese Type 035 Ming-class submarine had to surface and was guarded by four Chinese navy vessels.
The submarine was soon towed back to its base in Hainan Province by a fifth Chinese vessel.
The location of the incident is noteworthy because Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries have overlapping territorial claims in the area.
The Yomiuri Shimbun quoted anonymous sources from the Japanese and US militaries and said that the submarine might have caught fire.
However, the sources said it was difficult to establish the type and extent of damage from the submarine's appearance when it surfaced.
The number of injuries onboard the diesel-engine submarine, if any, remains unknown.
However, it was suggested that the submarine would not have had the potential to seriously pollute the area because it was not a nuclear-powered vessel.
The Japanese and US military sources were quoted as saying that, owing to the presence of other Chinese navy vessels in the same area, a military exercise was probably being carried out when the malfunction occurred.
"Everything is under control," ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Liou Chih-chien (劉志堅) said. "We were well-informed of the developments in regard to this incident."
"The incident took place at a location far away from Taiwan," he added.
According to Liou, the Ming-class submarines are the dominant submarines in the Chinese navy today. These submarines, at an average age of 30 years, were the first group of Chinese indigenous submarines.
Previously, 20 of the submarines were in service.
In May 2003, the SS-361 was involved in an accident during a military exercise.
Its 70 crew members, including trainees and regular sailors, died in the incident, but the Chinese military has never revealed the cause.
Each Ming-class submarine carries 57 sailors, including officers, with a maximum of 32 torpedoes.
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