Taiwan keeping watch after Chinese submarine surfaces in Taiwan Strait

18/6/2024 13:17

        Taiwan's defence minister said on Tuesday that they have a "grasp" of the situation after pictures appeared online of a Chinese nuclear submarine surfacing in the sensitive Taiwan Strait near Taiwanese fishermen.
        
        The narrow strait that separates Taiwan from China is a frequent source of tension. Taiwan reports Chinese warplanes and warships operating there on a daily basis, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims against the democratically governed island.
        
        Taiwanese media published the pictures of the surfaced craft, which appears to be a nuclear-armed Jin class ballistic missile submarine, taken by a Taiwanese fishing boat in the strait as dawn broke on Tuesday, about 200km from Taiwan's western coast.
        
        Asked about the submarine, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said they have a "grasp" of the intelligence situation, but declined to say how they were monitoring it or give details.