The Ministry of National Defense yesterday refused to comment on a report in the Chinese Communist Party-run Guangming Daily saying that the Kuang Hua VI (KH-6) fast attack missile boats that have been in service in the Taiwanese navy since 2010 were plagued by deficiencies and were a “fantasy.”
Taiwan commissioned its first squadron of 11 KH-6 radar-evading fast-attack craft, produced by China Shipbuilding Corp, in May 2010. Since then, 20 more of the 170-tonne boats have entered service, the most recent 10 on Dec. 2 last year at Tsuoying Naval Base in Greater Kaohsiung.
The 31 boats comprise the navy’s three squadrons, which have been dubbed Hai Chiao (Sea Sharks).
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Each boat, which costs about US$12.3 million, comes equipped with four Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles with a range of 150km, as well as a 20mm anti-aircraft gun, a 7.62mm machine gun and decoy systems.
The KH-6s, which have gradually been replacing the Navy’s Israeli-made Hai Ou (Sea Gull)-class missile patrol boats, are integral to the defense of Taiwan’s waters. Given the narrowness of the Taiwan Strait, the boats would be able to attack targets at naval bases along China’s coast.
Some naval experts, including James Holmes of the US Naval War College, have hailed the capabilities of fast-attack craft as a potentially efficient asymmetrical counter to the growing Chinese military.
The Hsiung Feng III, currently under development by the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology, is also a main component of Taiwan’s emerging sea defenses.
However, the Guangming Daily on Tuesday claimed that the program was beset with problems and called the Sea Sharks a “fantasy.” At issue, the paper said, was the fact that the guns on the KH-6 needed to be operated manually, which undermined the craft’s “stealth” capability.
The article also said the craft was ill-suited for the rough weather conditions in the Taiwan Strait, pointing to an incident involving a prototype that lost power and became stranded on an outer seawall during Typhoon Jangmi in September 2008.
In all, the paper said, those deficiencies imposed “several restrictions” on the boats’ use.
Contacted by the Taipei Times yesterday, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Colonel David Lo (羅紹和) said the ministry would not comment on Chinese media reports on Taiwan’s weapons systems.
Asked for comment, Holmes said the navy probably had corrected any deficiencies that lend themselves to easy fixes, such as clutter on the main deck.
“The point about handling well in heavy weather or at sea, however, is not something so easily corrected,” he said via e-mail. “The vessel is top-heavy because of its tall superstructure, which raises its ‘center of buoyancy’ and makes it bob around like a cork in high seas. That compromises its ability to go to sea and fight in all weather.”
“Improving the KH-6’s seakeeping ability would require a major redesign to lower weight within the vessel. That’s not something so easily solved,” Holmes said.
“Calling the craft a ‘fantasy’ overstates things in my view, so our Chinese friends could be indulging in some triumphalism. But I certainly see the KH-6 as only a transitional platform until something better is in the water,” he added.
Wendell Minnick, the Taipei-based Asia bureau chief for Defense News, said the deficiencies mentioned in the article were old ones and that he suspected the navy had ironed most of them out by now.
“The KH-6 missile patrol boat program has experienced developmental problems. One main problem is balancing the weight of larger missiles across the frame,” Minnick told the Taipei Times yesterday. “This has caused some problems in the past, but they appear to be seaworthy at present.”
“For the most part, Taiwan does produce, at the end of the day, impressive weapon systems and in many ways the Taiwanese are some of the best weapons producers in the world,” he said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked