Defense
Taiwan: First submarine prototype from the country’s own production
Taiwan’s first domestically manufactured submarine prototype was christened “Hai Kun” (Narwhal). photo
© ChiangYing-ying/AP
70 meters long and 8 meters wide: the first submarine prototype from the country’s own production was inaugurated in Taiwan. The production – a measure of defense. China also comments on this.
Permanent part of the Navy in 2025
According to Tsai, the submarine, which she named “Hai Kun” (Narwhal), will become a permanent part of the Navy in 2025. It currently owns two boats that Taiwan purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s. In addition to Defense Minister Huang Shu-kuang and other high-ranking politicians, Sandra Oudkirk, the director of the American Institute in Taiwan – Washington’s embassy in Taiwan, attended the inauguration.
Shipyard CSBC Corp. Chairman Cheng Wen-lon promised the submarine’s performance would exceed that of existing ones. Since November 2020, 1,000 people have worked on “Hai Kun”. It is 70 meters long and 8 meters wide. On board there are systems from the US defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin and torpedoes made in the United States. In the coming months, the submarine will undergo several tests. According to the plan, it should be handed over to the Navy at the end of 2024.
Tsai launched an ambitious plan in 2016 for Taiwan to produce eight submarines to strengthen national defense and modernize Taiwan’s military. The government provided around 49 billion Taiwan dollars (around 1.45 billion euros) for the “Hai Kun”.
Another submarine by 2027
Another boat is expected to be added to the navy by 2027, according to Huang Shu-kuang of Taiwan’s submarine program. According to his estimates, a fleet of ten submarines would be enough to make it more difficult for the Chinese to expand their influence in the Pacific.
Only a strait separates the Communist Party-ruled People’s Republic and democratic Taiwan. China considers Taiwan part of its territory, even though the country of more than 23 million people has had its own government for decades. Beijing has threatened to invade in the past. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry reports almost daily on Chinese military exercises off its coast.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing accused Tsai’s ruling party in Taiwan of undermining peace in the region. Taiwanese citizens’ “hard-earned money” is being “squandered” on the purchase of weapons, said spokeswoman Mao Ning. Taiwan is an “inseparable part” of China and cross-strait reunification will be achieved.