Chinese ships join salvage efforts for doomed Indonesian submarine Nanggala-402
- Three Chinese boats have arrived in Indonesian to help retrieve the 44-year-old submarine that sank last month, killing 53 on board
- A defence analyst said receiving assistance from Beijing over the vessel could be sensitive
Indonesian navy officials and experts have acknowledged how difficult the salvage operation will be to recover the Nanggala-402 submarine lying on the seabed off Bali.
“What’s most important is lifting the biggest parts of the ship from the seabed,” military spokesman Djawara H.T. Whimbo said on Thursday, adding that China would be involved in the evacuation and the lifting of the Nanggala.
Curie Maharani, a defence analyst at Bina Nusantara University in Jakarta, said receiving help from China over the submarine could be sensitive.
“On the one hand, help from China can be seen as a way for a great power to use its power responsibly,” she said, but by allowing countries with a potential conflict on the horizon to access our submarine “it’s almost like exposing our weaknesses”.