Japan's defense ministry said on Sunday that a submarine believed to be Chinese
was detected in waters near its southern islands.
This incident comes at a time when tensions have risen between Japan and China
As per reports, on Friday morning, Japan's Navy identified a submerged vessel sailing northwest
just outside territorial waters near Amami Oshima island,
part of Kagoshima prefecture, the ministry said in a statement.
A Chinese destroyer was also detected in the vicinity.
An official statement indicated that Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi instructed his staff to
"gather information and maintain vigilant surveillance with a sense of urgency,"
According to the report, the submarine continued underwater
westward in the ocean near Yokoate Island.
In this video Defense Updates analyses how Japan exposed Chinese Submarine trying to sneak in?
Let's get started.
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In the world of submarines, quietness is everything.
Lesser the noise, the lesser the chance of being detected.
This is what can be the difference between being the hunter or the hunted.
Chinese submarine technology is not as advance as
in the West especially when it comes to noise profile and overall stealth.
For example, according to Chinese sources, the Type 093 Shang class nuclear-powered
attack submarines are about as quiet as the improved Los Angeles class attack submarines.
The important thing to note here is that Los Angeles class nuclear attack boats were produced
for the U.S. Navy between 1985 and 1996 while the first Shang class vessel was commissioned in 2006.
The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence estimates the Shang is noisier than
the Russian Victor III class submarines which were developed in the late 1960s.
So, it's evident that the Chinese submarines are
significantly worse when it comes to noise emissions.
Not only do the subs have issues, but there are also other problems too,
including that with the crews.
According to a recently published study first reported by Stars and Stripes, Chinese submarines
patrolling the contested South China Sea are suffering from "serious" psychological disorders.
5 Chinese researchers affiliated with the Institute of Military Health Management
at Naval Medical University in Shanghai wrote in an article published in Military Medicine,
"One group of military personnel at high risk of mental health
problems is the submarine force, especially in the South China Sea"
The study found that 1 in 5 Chinese submariners
showed signs of psychological disorders ranging from depression and anxiety to hostility.
This is not one-off incident, Chinese submarines have been caught several times.
Reports have emerged that Chinese nuclear attack submarines had attempted to secretly
shadow the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth as it sailed into the Pacific recently.
But things didn't go according to plan and they were detected by anti-submarine sonar operators
aboard the frigates protecting the Carrier Strike Group.
As reported by UK based publication 'Express',
"Two 7,000-tonne Shang class submarines, which are armed with cruise missiles,
were located by specialists in the operations rooms of HMS Richmond and
HMS Kent as the carrier group left the South China Sea and moved into the Pacific ocean.
The Royal Navy had expected activity from Chinese submarines and Beijing’s intelligence gathering
spy ships, and the carrier was shadowed for a short period before being located by sonar radar."
Not only this but it was also reported that "A Royal Navy Astute class submarine
is understood to have identified a third Shang boat as it patrolled ahead of the task force
in what submariners call ‘running silent’ a process,
in which no noise is made by the crew and allows operators to locate any sub-surface contact."
This has resulted in a lot of humiliation for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
So, as usual, it had to employ the Chinese state news service 'Global Times'
which is the unofficial mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party for damage control.
An article has been published by 'Global Times' to gloss over this incident.
Global Times's stated,
"The Japanese Defense Ministry on Sunday made a publicity stunt by hyping the recent
activities of a submarine, it speculates is from China, close to Japanese territorial waters.
In doing so, Japan has ulterior motives and is again creating a "China threat" so it can have
more excuses to break its pacifist constitution, Chinese military observers said on Sunday."
This is a clear attempt to mislead and divert.
The publication also added, "According to international law,
ships and submarines can sail freely in international waters. Therefore, there
would be no problem even if Chinese ships did navigate outside of Japanese territorial waters,
Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday"
This is as improper as it gets since the Chinese government is trying to
restrict free movements in the South China Sea.
Remaining hidden from the enemy is the key for a submarine.
There is no logic for Chinese submarines to intentionally
divulge their acoustic signature to a rival. So, it is clear that it has been caught.
Once this signature is known to the enemy, it can easily track the submarine in the future.
The quantity of Chinese naval assets is impressive but the quality is compromised.
In a potential naval confrontation, this is likely to result in a huge problem for the
Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy especially with the not-so-healthy crew operating them.