Maritime security

South China Sea shock: Russia spots mystery ‘radiation incident’ as nuclear fears soar

RUSSIA’s consumer protection watchdog has reported it has detected a “radiation incident” in the South China Sea, as tensions continue to erupt in the hotly disputed region.

A website run by a far-right US radio talk show host had claimed on Wednesday that military sources detected an underwater explosion. No sources were named and Gizmodo cited two scientists who dismissed the story. The watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said: “Based on data received from the Global Environmental Monitoring System, there’s an increase in background radiation in the South China Sea in connection with a radiation incident.”

The Moscow body insisted that the radiation detected did not “currently threaten the Russian population” but it “has increased its radiation monitoring in the adjacent border areas.”

Gizmodo reported the that the data in the initial report registered “negligible” radiation and two other agonies failed to detect anything out of the ordinary.

In September, as reported by Forbes, Vietnamese fisherman spotted a Chinese Navy Jin Class nuclear-powered ballistic submarine near the Parcel Islands.

Six of the submarine class have been built and they are understood to be capable of remaining submerged for months at a time throughout their patrol.