Russian attack submarine and rare appearance in the East Sea, Philippines... worried

Multiple Philippine security sources revealed a rare incident when a Russian attack submarine surfaced in the South China Sea last week.

Image shows Russian Navy submarine Ufa surfacing in the South China Sea. (Source: Inquirer)

The Inquirer reported that one of the sources confirmed that it was the Russian Navy submarine Ufa, a Kilo II-class diesel-electric submarine. The submarine is from Malaysia and was first spotted 148 kilometers west of Occidental Mindoro province on November 28.

According to unnamed sources, the Philippine Navy immediately dispatched an aircraft and a warship to monitor the Ufa's activities. The sources declined to disclose why the submarine surfaced.

However, during its journey until the weekend, the Russian submarine surfaced as it slowly moved north, outside Philippine territorial waters. Throughout the journey, the Ufa was under the surveillance of the Philippine Navy ship BRP Jose Rizal.

The submarine crew said they were waiting for favorable weather to continue their journey to Vladivostok (Russia).

Regarding this incident, AFP news agency reported that on February 19, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos expressed "great concern", while Philippine Navy spokesman on the East Sea issue Roy Vincent Trinidad told AFP that the incident was "not alarming", but "this is a very special submarine".

The submarine has a displacement of about 3,900 tons, a length of 74 m, and an estimated range of 7,500 nautical miles, with the ability to dive to a depth of 300 m. The Ufa is notable for being equipped with modern Kalibr-PL cruise missiles and a variety of torpedoes, including ASuW 53-65 and ASW TEST 71/76.

Previously, on November 26, the Russian Navy confirmed that the diesel-electric submarine Ufa had completed an official visit to Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu port and conducted the PASSEX joint exercise with the Malaysian Navy in the East Sea.

Ufa, a third-generation diesel-electric submarine, is the fourth of six Kilo II-class submarines commissioned by Russia.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tau-ngam-tan-cong-nga-va-lan-xuat-hien-hiem-hoi-o-bien-dong-philippines-lo-295850.html