There is no evidence to corroborate a rumor that a Chinese submarine has crashed in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Tuesday.
In recent days, a rumor has been circulating online that a Type 093 (Shang class) Chinese People’s Liberation Army nuclear-powered attack submarine crashed in the Taiwan Strait, killing everyone aboard.
Addressing a regular news conference in Taipei, MND spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said that the nation’s joint intelligence and surveillance apparatus has not detected any evidence of a submarine crash.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The rumor has thus far only circulated on social media, with no official sources confirming the supposed incident thus far, he added, declining to comment further.
China’s navy currently has six Shang-class submarines in service.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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