A new study by the Shanghai Naval Medical University shows that one in five male Chinese submarine soldiers currently serving in the South China Sea have mental health problems, according to the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.
The study, which surveyed more than 500 active-duty enlisted men and officers, is the first study to date of personnel in the disputed waters.
The study also showed that these submarine personnel also had more severe psychological problems such as psychological anxiety and paranoia, higher than the average level in the Chinese military. The study points out that the cause of these problems may be, on the one hand, the increased number of military exercises, which result in up to 60 to 90 days in a state of submarine navigation; on the other hand, it may also be due to the closed and isolated environment under the sea for long periods of Time and the extraordinarily severe noise they face while sleeping.
The South China Morning Post report notes that Beijing has increased the frequency of military operations in the South China Sea in recent years in order to prove its sovereignty over the area, and suggests that this is one of the policy factors contributing to the soldiers’ mental health problems.
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