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.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS