Two Perry-class guided-missile frigates purchased from the US arrived in Kaohsiung yesterday, an acquisition that the Republic of China (ROC) Navy said will increase its anti-submarine capability.
Flying ROC national flags, the vessels, crewed by Taiwanese, sailed into Zuoying Military Harbor in Kaohsiung at about 9:30am, where a welcoming ceremony was held by the military.
A commissioning ceremony is slated for July next year, according to military sources.
Photo: CNA
The ships — which were cheaper than Taiwanese-made Cheng Kung-class frigates, the design of which is based on Perry-class frigates — were built in the 1980s.
The navy renamed them Ming Chuan No. 1112 and Feng Chia No. 1115.
They are to join the navy’s 146th fleet based on the outlying island of Penghu, from where they are to patrol the Taiwan Strait, the sources said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Perry-class frigates have high mobility and are equipped with the SQQ-89 undersea warfare combat system and the SQR-19 sonar system, both of which the military said would beef up its anti-submarine capabilities.
Then-US president Barack Obama signed a bill into law in December 2014 that authorized the sale of four Perry-class frigates to Taiwan.
Taipei budgeted about NT$5.5 billion (US$182 million at today’s exchange rate) in 2014 to purchase two of the ships, which were formerly named the USS Taylor (EFG-50) and the USS Gary (EFG-51) of the US Navy.
Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), commander of the ROC Navy, and family members of the crew were at the port to welcome the ships as they docked.
An official who declined to be named said the navy had been working with its US counterpart since May last year to bring the ships to Taiwan, adding that the crew underwent 10 months of tests and training with the US military.
The frigates are to be fitted with new equipment, while officers will be trained with the new ships before they are added into the naval force, the official said.
“Maintaining security and unimpeded passage in the waters around Taiwan is the navy’s greatest responsibility. We hope we will continue to have support in making arms purchases to ensure we can undertake this responsibility,” the sources said.
The numbering of the frigates — 1112 and 1115 — follows a convention in which the last two numbers of a ship’s name cannot add up to four, nor can the last digit be a four, the official said.
Case of all the digits adding up to four are also not used.
Four in Chinese has a similar pronunciation to the Chinese word for “die” (si, 死).
“The idea is that we hope officers will not be distracted by what might be perceived as an ominous ship name,” the official said, adding that as the previous Cheng Kung-class vessel to be added to the fleet was No. 1110, and 1111 adds up to four, the new ships were numbered starting from 1112.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS