Taiwan unveils first home-built submarine in counter to China
Sub was built with engineers and former naval officers from Australia, South Korea, India, Spain and Canada.
Taipei has unveiled its first domestically-built submarine which it says will increase its “asymmetric warfare” capabilities in response to Beijing’s heightening military activities around the island.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, who has made the submarine program a key plank of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises, showed off the first of eight new submarines on Thursday in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
“In the past, a domestically developed submarine was considered an impossible task. But, today, a submarine designed and manufactured by our country‘s people sits before our eyes,” Ms Tsai said. She said it would play an important role in strengthening the navy’s “asymmetric warfare” capabilities.
Despite the unveiling, the submarine — which has a price tag of $T49.36 billion ($2.4 billion) — will not be operational in Taiwan’s navy for another two years. It will enter sea trials next month before delivery to the navy by the end of 2024. The submarine was built with engineers and former naval officers from Australia, South Korea, India, Spain and Canada, according to an investigation by Reuters.
Some analysts have criticised the costly program and said Taiwan should focus instead on other capabilities. Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu defended the program, saying it was part of a necessary response to increased threat from China’s increased air and naval activities near the island.
“For anyone who questions Taiwan’s submarine strategy, I would be a most forceful advocate for Taiwan to acquire submarines because that’s needed to deter war from taking place,” Mr Wu said on Thursday.
China’s state-run Global Times said Taiwan’s submarine program was “daydreaming” and would fail to stop a PLA blockade.
“The plan is just an illusion of the island attempting to resist reunification by force,” it said.
A fortnight ago, China flew 103 warplanes around Taiwan, a new daily record.
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