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ConflictsTaiwan

Taiwan unveils its first domestically manufactured submarine

September 28, 2023

The self-governing island says it will bolster its defenses and hopes the sub will serve as a deterrence against the Chinese navy. It is only expected to be fully operational in two years.

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Navy personnel attend Taiwan's domestically-made submarine naming and launching ceremony at CSBC Corp's shipyards in Kaohsiung
Hai Kun measures 80 meters (262 feet) in length and will use a combat system by Lockheed Martin and carry US-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes.Image: Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo/picture alliance

Taiwan unveiled its first-ever domestically built submarine on Thursday.

President Tsai Ing-wen said building submarines was a crucial military deterrence.

"Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take this step and allow the self-reliant national defense policy to grow and flourish on our land," Tsai said.

It must still undergo sea trials and will not enter service for another two years.

Taiwan's navy has two working submarines bought from the Netherlands in the 1980s. It previously said it had plans to build eight submarines.

What is Taiwan's combat capability?

Huang Shu-kuang, the convener of Taiwan's Indigenous Defense Submarine program, said he believes a fleet of 10 submarines would make it harder for the Chinese Navy to extend its power in the contested maritime region.

The island's Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) believes deploying submarines at major chokepoints would be enough to cause problems for China.

"It can disrupt the PLA's attempt to encircle and attack Taiwan from the east and west," Jiang Hsin-biao of the INDSR said.

President Tsai Ing-wen, center, poses with the model of submarine prototype during the naming and launching ceremony of domestically-made submarines at CSBC Corp's shipyards in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan
President Tsai Ing-wen, who initiated the plan when she took office in 2016, showed off the first of eight new submarines in the southern city of KaohsiungImage: Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo/picture alliance

China's Defense Ministry said Taiwan was "over-rating itself and attempting something impossible."

"No matter how many weapons [they] build or purchase, they cannot stop the general trend of national reunification, nor can they shake the People's Liberation Army's... strong ability to defend national sovereignty," spokesperson Wu Qian said.

China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has stressed it will not hesitate to use force to assert its power over the strait.

The Chinese threat to Taiwan

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that Taipei had to strengthen its defenses as it faced with an increased threat from China's military.

"Having a new submarine is one of those strategies. 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," Wu said.

China has one of the world's largest navies, with nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.

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lo/ab (AP, AFP, Reuters)