A senior navy officer yesterday questioned a local ship builder’s capability to build submarines, saying the company’s briefing material shows it is not ready to take on such a project.
Vice Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), chief of staff of Navy Command Headquarters, was echoing Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu’s (高華柱) comment that he was not sure if local shipbuilders have the technology to build submarines for the navy.
The idea was put forth as early as 2002, but more assessments will be required because the building of submarines involves many technologies, Kao said.
In reply to lawmakers’ questions, Kao said the most basic requirement for locally built submarines is that they be able to dive and surface, and the most important thing is to ensure the safety of the navy personnel.
According to a report in the Chinese-language United Evening News, Kao described a proposal by state-run CSBC Corp, Taiwan (CSBC, 台灣國際造船) to build military submarines as “bold and muddleheaded.”
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), an expert on defense affairs, said being bold is better than being timid. CSBC should be given a chance to “start by building small submarines,” from which it will acquire the experience to produce bigger ones, Lin said.
Huang said that after reviewing data supplied by CSBC, he felt “the company’s capabilities were still insufficient.”
Kao said the Ministry of National Defense was “carefully reviewing” the CSBC proposal, which he said was “just an idea.”
The ministry has not begun to evaluate its feasibility, he said.
CSBC vice president Chen Feng-lin (陳豊霖) was angered by Kao’s description of his company’s proposal as “bold and muddleheaded,” according to the newspaper report.
“Is Kao a navy man? I don’t think so,” Chen was quoted as saying, referring to Kao’s previous service in the infantry.
While he respects the minister’s position, Chen said it must be pointed out that a group of German submarine experts expressed optimism eight years ago that CSBC would be able to build a complete submarine, including its weapons system, if the company could acquire some advanced technology in collaboration with foreign companies.
“All we need is a little support and a small investment [from the government],” Chen was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
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