Defense Minister Wellington Koo has confirmed that a Chinese submarine did
surface in the Taiwan Strait, but is refusing to comment on the details or
the likely reason it made an appearance.

Koo told lawmakers that Ministry of National Defense was aware of the
situation but deemed it inappropriate to release any details regarding the
maneuver.

The submarine was spotted surfacing by the crew of a fishing boat in waters
some 24-nautical miles west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait near
Kinmen- before it sailed toward China accompanied by another Chinese Navy
vessel.

The military says the vessel was a nuclear-powered Type 094 Jin-class
ballistic missile submarine.

Su Tzu-yun of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research says
the submarine could have surfaced due to safety concerns relating to
unexpected changes in underwater terrain, as waters in the Taiwan Strait are
only 60-meters deep on average.