China abandons floating nuclear power plant project as it fears US sabotage

After the sabotage on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, the Chinese authorities decided to postpone the project to deploy a floating nuclear power plant in the South China Sea, since they do not rule out a sabotage operation by the United States. This was announced today, May 31, TASS reports with reference to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

Chinese scientists have been developing a floating nuclear power plant for more than 10 years to be located in the South China Sea. The project is currently complete. However, the authorities refrain from giving permission for its implementation.

“A Beijing-based offshore researcher who was not involved in the project but was evaluating major infrastructure projects indicated that the disruption of Russia’s Nord Stream could serve as a warning to the Chinese government,” – the agency quotes from a newspaper article.

The interlocutor of the publication recalled that no country or organization has claimed responsibility for sabotage on gas pipelines, but “there is a widespread belief that the United States is behind this.”

“Attacking the key infrastructure of a permanent member of the UN Security Council was previously considered taboo. But now it’s not like that, – he said.

The specialist said that fears are growing in Beijing that the United States may attack Chinese infrastructure in the South China Sea. And if this happens, then the flooding of the floating nuclear power plant, according to him, will entail a much greater catastrophe than the explosions at the Nord Streams. Leakage of radioactive materials will pose a serious threat to the region and increase the risk of contamination of marine resources.

“The loss of such a facility would also result in serious financial losses for Beijing,” – writes the newspaper.

The publication notes that the attack on the ground nuclear power plant will be considered by Beijing and the international community as a declaration of war. However, as the source emphasized, in the event of a covert attack on a floating nuclear power plant located on the high seas, it would be difficult to pin the blame on any specific party.

According to the authors of the material, ensuring the safety of a floating nuclear power plant is a very difficult task, since for this it is necessary to organize physical protection from combat swimmers, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.

The newspaper points out that the deployment of ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy in the South China Sea near the nuclear power plant may cause discontent on the part of neighboring states. At the same time, Beijing is not interested in aggravating the situation in the region.