Chinese sub visits Sri Lanka
First time a PLAN sub has been seen in Indian Ocean.
Chinese submarine’s Sri Lanka visit prompts rescue questions
The visit of the Chinese Type 039 ‘Song’ class submarine to Colombo, Sri Lanka, earlier this month passed with little notice, but it’s the first time one of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s (PLA-N) diesel-powered submarines has emerged in the Indian Ocean, and its a rare PLA-N submarine visit to a foreign port. Naturally, this visit, and an Indian Ocean patrol by a Chinese nuclear submarine at the start of this year, is prompting discussion about the expanding reach and capability of China’s navy.
Yet beyond signaling China’s willingness to deploy its submarines far beyond the first island chain, this visit also highlights a dilemma the PLA-N must address as it develops into a blue water navy: how to rescue its submarines in the event of disaster.
The submarine ‘Great Wall 0329’ docked at the Chinese-funded Colombo International Container Terminal in Sri Lanka from 7 to 14 September, just before a one-day visit to the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yesterday the Chinese Ministry of Defense’s spokesperson Colonel Gen Yengsheng confirmed that the submarine visited while in transit to join the PLA Navy task force engaged in counter-piracy operations near the Somali coast and Gulf of Aden. The US, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan and Russia were all notified of the deployment.
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Source: lowyinterpreter.org
