China escalates tension with Taiwan with warplanes 2:38
(CNN) -
A US nuclear-powered submarine collided with an underwater object in the South China Sea on Saturday, according to two defense officials.
Several sailors aboard the USS Connecticut were injured in the accident, officials said.
None of the injured were in serious danger, according to a statement from the United States Pacific Fleet.
It is unclear what may have struck the Seawolf-class submarine while it was submerged.
"The submarine remains in a safe and stable condition. The USS Connecticut nuclear power plant and spaces were unaffected and remain fully operational," the statement said.
"The incident will be investigated."
The US Navy did not specify that the incident took place in the South China Sea, only that it occurred in international waters in the Indo-Pacific region.
The accident came at a time when tensions between the US and China were triggered by incursions by the Chinese military into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).
China could use military force to control Taiwan 1:57
The Connecticut was operating in the waters of the South China Sea while the United States and its allies conducted a major multinational show of force in the region, known as Carrier Strike Group 21. The ongoing exercise featured ships from the United States, the United Kingdom and the United States. Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, including three aircraft carriers, which trained in and around the area.
Blinken Says US "Strongly" Urges China to Cease Military Activity Near Taiwan
On Saturday, 39 Chinese military jets, including fighters and transport jets, entered Taiwan's ADIZ, prompting Taiwan's air forces to take off planes and deploy air defense missiles to monitor the planes.
Two days later, China sent 56 planes to Taiwan's ADIZ in 24 hours, the highest number since the self-governing island began releasing these figures last year.
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"We are very concerned about the provocative military activity by the People's Republic of China near Taiwan," US Secretary of State Tony Blinken said at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday when asked about the activity. from China.
"As we have said, the activity is destabilizing. It runs the risk of miscalculation and has the potential to undermine regional peace and stability. We therefore strongly urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure and coercion. addressed to Taiwan ".
Taiwan warns that China could invade the island in 2025
Everything you need to know about the dispute between Taiwan and China
On Wednesday, Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said China may be prepared to launch a "large-scale" invasion of the island in 2025, adding that they "currently have the ability" to strike, but would have to "pay the price".
The Biden administration has shifted the focus of US national security policy, away from the wars of the past two decades and toward Beijing, which has prevailed in the region and on the world stage.
On Thursday, the Central Intelligence Agency announced the creation of a new mission center for China, following a months-long review that found China to be the biggest long-term threat to the United States.
Xi Jinping sends harsh warning to other countries 0:59
A day earlier, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with a senior Chinese official in Switzerland, in what an administration official called a "candid, direct and wide-ranging conversation."
China could be ready to mount a "large-scale" invasion of Taiwan by 2025, warns the island's defense minister
The meeting, which the official said had a "different tone" from a bitter meeting between Sullivan and his Chinese counterpart six months ago, set the stage for a virtual meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in late December. this year in an effort to ensure stability.
However, the agreement between the two leaders to meet did not serve to alleviate current friction in the region, nor to ease friction around the South China Sea, where China has built a series of bases on artificial reefs and islands in the sea. in conflict.
In response to a report by
The Wall Street Journal
on the presence of US troops in Taiwan, the Pentagon highlighted its support for Taiwan and its defense needs.
"Our support and advocacy relationship with Taiwan remains aligned in the face of the current threat posed by the People's Republic of China," Pentagon spokesman John Supple said on Thursday, accusing China of actions "destabilizing and increasing the risk of error from calculation".
As relations between the United States and China soured, the State Department requested in June 2018 the dispatch of US Marines to Taiwan to help safeguard the de facto US embassy in that country.
At the time, there were only 10 American soldiers in Taiwan, according to Department of Defense workforce records, and only one was from the Marine Corps, which is the branch of the military tasked with embassy security.
The number gradually increased to 19 soldiers two years later, before jumping to 32 earlier this year, according to records.
Similarly, the number of US soldiers in China increased from 14 in 2018 to 55 now, most of whom are Marines.
China exhibits its new stealth fighter jets 0:57
"The United States defense relationship with Taiwan is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act and is based on an assessment of Taiwan's defense needs and the threat posed by the PRC, as has been the case for more than 40 years. "Supple said.
The comments are part of a series of increasingly intense rhetorical attacks between the two superpowers participating in what Pentagon officials call the "Great Power Competition".
Earlier this week, China criticized the US for what it called "irresponsible remarks" after the US condemned China's military flights in Taiwan's ADIZ.
"In recent times, the United States has continued its negative actions by selling arms to Taiwan and strengthening military and official ties between the United States and Taiwan," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
South China Sea Submarine