A military expert said China's submarine strategy has been aimed at targeting US aircraft carriers and making it more difficult for the US to use force in Asia, as Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Chairman Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday called for the international community to pay more attention to the Chinese threat to naval forces in Asia.
During an interpellation session at the Legislative Yuan, Wu said that China's ongoing military build-up indicates that it has ambitions beyond blockading Taiwan.
He said that China's military growth was such that while other nations usually had one shipbuilder making subs, China had three.
"Not only does China have Ming-class, Song-class and Yuan-class submarines, it has also has Type-093 and Type-094 nuclear-powered attack submarines," Wu said.
He noted that China had purchased a total of 12 Kilo-class submarines from Russia.
"China has more than it needs to create a military blockade around Taiwan -- clearly their ambitions aim higher than this," Wu said.
Ou Si-fu (
Ou hinted that China's submarine force has been focused on becoming capable of carrying out an underwater blockade of Taiwan.
China has been developing the capability to deploy its naval forces beyond its coastline, he said.
Beijing has developed submarine-launched ballistic missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine to carry them, he said.
Ou said the PLAN currently possessed one Hsia-class strategic missile-carrying sub, and a new indigenous nuclear-powered 094 submarine is expected to be completed later this year.
A long-rang ballistic missiles on the 094 submarine might be able to reach the US mainland from its underwater base on China's coast, he said.
He said the PLAN has more than 70 submarines. As the PLAN modernizes, it is phasing out its fleet of more than 30 older Romeo-class diesel submarines and replacing them with indigenously produced Ming and Song-class, and the Russian-built Kilo-class subs.
Ou said China has 20 Ming-class submarines, six or seven Soong-class submarines, four Kilo-class submarines and has placed an order for another eight Kilo-class submarines from Russia.
He said US intelligence officials have confirmed that China has produced a new non-nuclear powered attack submarine as the first Yuan-class submarine. He said the Song is the first Chinese submarine equipped with a submerged-launch anti-ship cruise missile.
The Song, Yuan and Kilo subs would provide the next generation in China's conventional submarine technology, he said.
However, Ou said the Kilo-class sub was designed in the late 1970s, and none of the three types are among the most advanced submarines. But he was doubtful the PLAN was capable of countering the more advanced US navy.
He said the PLAN longed to get its hands on the newest generation of Russian-built Lada (or Amur) class subs which will join the Russian navy later this year, but Moscow refused to export the technology to China. He said if the US sends more offensive subs and AGEIS destroyers to East Asia, it will be able to destroy the PLAN's submarine force.
Additional report by Joy Su
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
RSS