Chinese nuclear submarine sank during construction, US says

China's latest nuclear submarine sank during its construction earlier this year, a senior US defense official said Thursday.

Satellite images from June showed cranes at the Wuchang shipyard where the Zhou-class attack submarine would have been docked.

These images indicate that it likely sank between May and June, the official said.

The current status of the submarine has not been confirmed by China.

The sinking of the submarine was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

China says it has no information to share

Reports of a submarine sinking during construction could be a potential setback for China as it continues to expand its naval capacity.

"We are not familiar with the situation you mentioned and currently have no information to provide," a Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said.

The US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was "not surprising" that China's navy would hide the sinking of the submarine.

"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," the official said, who used an acronym for the People's Liberation Army.