Japan detects foreign submarine passing near Amami-Oshima

A submarine in close quarters with an undersea fiber-optic communications cable. Photo: Policy Exchange. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

TOKYO, JUn 20, 2020, Kyodo. A foreign submarine was detected as it passed near Kagoshima Prefecture’s Amami-Oshima Island in Japan’s southwest while submerged, the Defense Ministry said Saturday, Kyodo News reported.

The ministry did not specify to which nation the submarine belongs but did confirm it traveled westward through the contiguous zone around the island on Thursday afternoon.

The submarine did not violate Japanese territorial waters around the island, it said.

The submarine was located in waters west of Yokoate Island as of Saturday morning.

Defense Minister Taro Kono instructed officials to “do their best in collecting information and conducting surveillance.”

The Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed a patrol plane and destroyer to waters in which the submarine is operating.

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