Taiwan might become a supplier of weapons to Western democracies, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, praising the nation’s improving weapons design ability as she launched an advanced, missile-laden warship and commissioned a new minelayer.
Tsai has made boosting the defense of the nation a priority in the face of a growing military challenge from Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
While the nation’s air force has benefited from big-ticket imported items such as new and upgraded F-16s, the navy is Tsai’s next focus, with submarines in production and the first of a fleet of highly maneuverable stealth corvettes launched yesterday.
Photo: CNA
The new Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, a prototype of which is already in operation, have been dubbed “aircraft carrier killers” by the navy, due to their complement of anti-ship missiles. They can also carry Sky Sword anti-aircraft missiles.
In a speech at Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co’s (龍德造船) shipyard in Yilan County’s Suao Township (蘇澳), Tsai said Taiwan is beginning to see the results of her administration’s policy of pursuing self-sufficiency in national defense capability.
A long series of developments, including the start of construction on a domestic submarine and the handover of new patrol ships and minelayers, show that indigenous defense manufacturing is making “thorough and comprehensive” progress, Tsai said.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
During her speech marking the launch of the Ta Chiang (塔江艦) — the first mass-produced Tuo Chiang-class ship — Tsai said the vessel, as well as a new minelayer developed for the navy, would deter attacks and showcase Taiwan’s research and development ability.
“We have the determination and capability to complete the task of building our own ships, letting the world see our defense research and development energy,” Tsai said.
The Ta Chiang’s name contains a reference to the Tawa River (塔瓦溪) in Taitung County, which forms the ancestral hunting grounds of the Paiwan people, while also alluding to the vessel’s symbolic role as a “tower” (塔) on the front line of the nation’s defense, the navy said.
The minelayer has a maximum speed of 14 knots (26kph) and a displacement of 347 tonnes.
It is equipped with a T-75 20mm cannon and T-74 machine guns, as well as a domestically developed minelaying system, the navy said.
“In the future, we might also become a supply source of related equipment and components in Western democracies, driving the upgrading of the defense industry,” Tsai said.
The US is Taiwan’s main foreign source of weapons. Most countries shy away from arming Taiwan, wary of angering Beijing and losing valuable commercial contracts with the world’s second-largest economy.
Tsai, re-elected by a landslide in January on a vow to stand up to China, has championed the concept of “asymmetric warfare,” focusing on high-tech, mobile weapons designed to make any Chinese attack as difficult as possible.
She has bolstered the domestic arms industry to try to make Taiwan as self-sufficient as possible.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS