Japanese submarine crashes into commercial ship from Hong Kong

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A submarine of Japan's maritime self-defense force collided with a Hong Kong-registered ship, resulting in three people injured on the sub, according to Tokyo.

Japan's defense ministry said Monday the naval submarine crashed into a commercial vessel in the Pacific Ocean but no critical damage was reported, according to Kyodo News.

The accident involving the 84-meter-long Souryu sub took place at 10:58 a.m. off the coast of Cape Ashizuri in Kochi Prefecture, as the submersible craft was rising above the surface, NHK reported.

Japan's military chief Nobuo Kishi said the submarine, which was training off the Japanese coast, detected the commercial ship through its periscope, but was unable to avert a collision.

The Hong Kong merchant ship included 21 Chinese citizens. None of the crew was injured, reports said. According to NHK the vessel was carrying iron ore after leaving the Chinese port of Qingdao in Shandong Province, and was heading for Okayama Prefecture in Japan.

The East China Sea is a busy shipping area for some of the world's biggest economies. In March 2020, a Japanese destroyer, the JS Shimakaze, collided with a Chinese fishing vessel, resulting in injuries.

Toshiyuki Ito, a professor at Kanazawa Institute of Technology's Toranomon Graduate School, and a retired vice admiral, said submarines are most likely to cause accidents when trying to rise above the surface, according to NHK. Teamwork among the submarine crew is key, Ito said.

Japan and China have been at odds over territorial claims in the East China Sea, where both countries lay claim to the Senkaku or Diaoyutai Islands. Taiwan also claims the islands as its territory.

Tokyo Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Monday vessels of the Chinese coast guard illegally entered Japan-claimed waters on Saturday and Sunday.

Kato said the acts are "extremely regrettable and unacceptable."

On Feb. 1, China's coast guard approved the use of weapons against "foreign ships that infringe on China's sovereignty and jurisdiction at sea."

The current dispute over the Senkaku Islands between the two countries began after the Japanese purchased the islands from their private owner in September 2012. China has accused Japan of "stealing" the islands.