During World War II, German U-boats almost succeeded in bringing Britain to its knees. US Navy submarines saw their greatest success against Japan with the sinking of more than 500 vessels in the Taiwan Strait. The complete blockade of Japan with US submarines, US Navy aircraft and an aerial mining program destabilized Japan’s economy and created severe shortages of food, materials for weapons production and fuel.
On April 2, 1982, Argentine forces used submarines to invade the Falkland Islands, a British territory, sparking one of the largest conflicts since World War II. In response to Argentine aggression, the British government quickly assembled a task force to engage the Argentine Navy.
During the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1995 and 1996, Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) submarines forced the US Seventh fleet to retreat, while Taiwan’s Chien Lung-class submarines drove away the PLAN from waters around Taiwan.
These incidents underscore the importance of submarines, establishing them as the dominant weapon of war at sea, and anti-submarine warfare is at the heart of naval strategy worldwide.
Situated at the midpoint of the first island chain, Taiwan occupies a critical strategic position that oversees all waterways in East Asia, including the Taiwan Strait. After years of waiting, its domestically built Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) is to be launched today. There are only a handful of states capable of designing and building their own submarines: China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Sweden, the UK and the US.
Since the 1960s, Taiwan has purchased Italian SX-404-class midget submarines, US-built Guppy II-class submarines and Chien Lung-class submarines made by the Netherlands.
The closest opportunity Taiwan had to procure more submarines was during the administration of former US president George W. Bush, who approved the sale of eight diesel-electric submarines. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers stalled the budget review 69 times, and former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) opposed submarine procurement.
Fortunately, that did not stop Admiral Chen Yung-kang (陳永康) and others from pushing for the IDS program, and the turning point finally came when President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in 2016. Giving her full support to the IDS program, Tsai promoted Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) to navy commander in 2016. The budget for the first submarine, codenamed the Haichang Project, was NT$49.3 billion (US$1.53 billion).
Taiwan’s first IDS prototype, the Hai Kun (SS-711), is to undergo a harbor acceptance test at local shipbuilder CSBC Corp’s shipyard in Kaohsiung after it is launched in a ceremony presided over by Tsai today.
Thanks to the navy officers’ dedication, Tsai’s wholehearted support, the US’ “red zone” technologies and the private sectors’ collective efforts to evade Chinese espionage, Taiwan was finally able to acquire the technologies and components needed to design and build its own submarines.
Ever since the launch of the program, suppliers have stepped on China’s toes and been put under pressure. In the public sphere, the program was condemned and vilified by pro-China supporters and media outlets.
Submarines are the most crucial weapon to defend Taiwan. In times of war, they could deny the PLAN access to the Philippine Sea and South China Sea. Taiwanese should continue to voice their support for the president and legislators who have pulled out all the stops to implement the program.
It is also with the help of many other nameless heroes that Taiwan is finally able to carry out this feat. The production of locally developed submarines not only demonstrates Taiwan’s determination to defend itself and achieve national defense independence, it also marks a new milestone for the nation’s shipbuilding industry.
Chu-Ke Feng-yun is a military blogger.
Translated by Rita Wang
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
US President Donald Trump created some consternation in Taiwan last week when he told a news conference that a successful trade deal with China would help with “unification.” Although the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, Trump’s language struck a raw nerve in Taiwan given his open siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression seeking to “reunify” Ukraine and Russia. On earlier occasions, Trump has criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the US’ chip industry and for relying too much on the US for defense, ominously presaging a weakening of US support for Taiwan. However, further examination of Trump’s remarks in
It is being said every second day: The ongoing recall campaign in Taiwan — where citizens are trying to collect enough signatures to trigger re-elections for a number of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators — is orchestrated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), or even President William Lai (賴清德) himself. The KMT makes the claim, and foreign media and analysts repeat it. However, they never show any proof — because there is not any. It is alarming how easily academics, journalists and experts toss around claims that amount to accusing a democratic government of conspiracy — without a shred of evidence. These
China on May 23, 1951, imposed the so-called “17-Point Agreement” to formally annex Tibet. In March, China in its 18th White Paper misleadingly said it laid “firm foundations for the region’s human rights cause.” The agreement is invalid in international law, because it was signed under threat. Ngapo Ngawang Jigme, head of the Tibetan delegation sent to China for peace negotiations, was not authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the Tibetan government and the delegation was made to sign it under duress. After seven decades, Tibet remains intact and there is global outpouring of sympathy for Tibetans. This realization