Zhao Lijian, Foreign Ministry spokesman, demanded that Washington ‘show a responsible attitude and offer a detailed explanation of the accident as soon as possible to the international community and to the countries in the region.’

He emphasized that the U.S. report should specify the intention of sailing in the area and whether there was any nuclear spill, with danger to the underwater ecosystem.

Apart from Zhao, this Tuesday the Global Times launched an online petition criticizing the silence from the White House on the USS Connecticut accident, three weeks after the incident became known.

‘We call on the international community to stand up and demand an explanation (…) Otherwise it would mean that the United States has done something inadmissible, such as acting in violation of international law and seriously infringing on the interests of other countries in the South China Sea,’ the newspaper stressed.

On October 7, the U.S. Navy reported that five days earlier the submarine collided with an unknown object while traveling in the Indo-Pacific, a dozen sailors were injured and the vehicle was partially damaged.

This event attracted worldwide attention, because in recent years many ships from that country have caused serious damage to navigation in the area.

pgh/etc/mem/ymr