Taiwan, which is in a sovereignty dispute with China, unveiled its first domestically produced submarine with a ceremony.
According to the news of Taiwan news agency CNA, a ceremony was held yesterday at the shipyard of Taiwan International Shipbuilding Company (CSBC) in Kaohsiung city for the introduction of the defense type submarine called “Narwhal”.
In her speech at the ceremony, Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen emphasized that the domestically produced submarine is “critically important for the navy’s asymmetric warfare capability” and stated that it will contribute to Taiwan’s “defense autonomy”.
The submarine, which will undergo port acceptance testing on October 1 and subsequent sea acceptance testing, is planned to be delivered to the Taiwanese navy by the end of 2024.
Within the scope of the program called “Indigenous Defense Submarine” (IDS), the second submarine is planned to be completed in 2027.
Both submarines are intended to be deployed in the waters around the island and in the Pacific region up to Japan’s Okinawa Island.
With the addition of domestically produced submarines, the number of submarines in the Taiwanese navy will increase to 3 by 2025 and to 4 by 2027.
Taiwan’s navy currently operates two Chien Lung-class submarines, which were purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
Reaction from China
“No matter how many weapons the Taiwanese authorities make or buy, they will not be able to stop the general trend of national integration and the will and ability of the Chinese military to defend national independence and territorial integrity,” Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesperson Wu Qien said at the monthly press conference. said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Those who are stubbornly committed to the idea of Taiwan’s independence are spending the hard-earned money of the Taiwanese people to buy weapons and create confrontation in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is an integral part of China. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait are separate.” It will be reunited later.” he said.
China, which considers Taiwan Island as part of its territory and the Taiwan Strait as territorial waters, emphasizes that it will not exclude the use of force if necessary to reunify the island with the mainland.
Taiwan, which China claims is part of its territory, has had de facto independence since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was established. The separation between mainland China and Taiwan, which emerged after the civil war, still continues.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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