No. 361 was part of the 12th Brigade of the North Sea Fleet of the PLAN based at Lüshunkou in Liaoning Province. It was a Type-035AIP submarine. According to CNN, China was increasing training and exercises of its submarines in the east to carry out a policy of "sea denial" to counter the powerful U.S. Pacific fleet.
Fatal incident
According to the official Chinese news agencyXinhua, all 70 crew members died when the submarine's diesel engine used up all the oxygen while the boat was submerged on April 16, 2003. The submarine, which was commanded by Commodore Cheng Fuming, had been taking part in naval exercises east of Inner Changshan Islands in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Northeastern China. Along with its normal complement, the crew also included 13 trainee cadets from the Chinese naval academy. At a press conference on May 8, 2003, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhang Qiyue stated that while on an exercise east of Changshan Islands, the No. 361 submarine was lost due to a mechanical problem and all 70 on board perished. The submarine had been towed to a port as of the time of the press conference. After the disaster, the crippled submarine drifted for ten days because it was on a silent, no-contact exercise. The boat was discovered by Chinese fishermen who noticed its periscope sticking above the surface on April 25, 2003. The submarine was initially towed to Yulin Harbor near Sanya on Hainan Island before being taken back to the northeast seaport of Dalian in Liaoning province.
Aftermath
On May 2, 2003, Central Military Commission chairman Jiang Zemin said in a condolence message to the families of the dead that "the officers and sailors of 361 remembered their sacred duty entrusted to them by the Party and the people. They died on duty, sacrificed themselves for the country, and they are great losses to the People’s Navy." CMC Vice-chairman Guo Boxiong led an enquiry into the incident, which resulted in the dismissal or demotion of five senior PLAN officers in June 2003: Navy Commander Shi Yunsheng and Political Commissar Yang Huaiqing; North Sea Fleet Commander Ding Yiping, Political Commissar Chen Xianfeng, and Chief of Staff Xiao Xinnian. Ding Yiping had been groomed to be the candidate for Navy Commander, but was removed from contention after the accident. Admiral Wu Shengli eventually succeeded Zhang Dingfa as Commander.
