President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced the establishment of a national ship model testing center in Kaohsiung, saying the move “shows the Taiwanese will to defend their country to the world.”
The indigenous shipbuilding program — one of the Tsai administration’s signature defense initiatives — was conceived to bolster the nation’s military strength and shipbuilding industry, she told an event marking the center’s founding at Kaohsiung Software Technology Park.
Taiwan’s five-decade-old shipbuilding industry is esteemed worldwide for the quality of its ships, which now range from motorboats to large cargo ships and warships, she said after noting the importance of Kaohsiung to the sector.
Photo: CNA
The capabilities of the industry are developing apace and the results can be seen in the rate at which domestically produced military vessels are put to sea, including coast guard patrol craft and navy ships, she said.
Recognizing that ship model testing is a key link in the chain of shipbuilding, the Executive Yuan last year authorized the creation of the test center as part of the National Academy of Marine Research, she added.
“I have every confidence that the center — which is being planned and organized at the moment — will overcome any and all obstacles to its success,” Tsai said.
The center is to become the nation’s agency that oversees the certification of domestically built surface combatant vessels and submarines, which would save shipbuilding and maintenance costs, she said.
The center’s head office is being constructed on a property belonging to the coast guard in Kaohsiung and is scheduled to be finished in 2025, the academy said.
The center’s missions are to test the performance of ships and submarines, while building a knowledge base for ship model testing, it said.
The center would be staffed by researchers in cooperation with National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University and National Taiwan Ocean University, while submarine technology is to be supplied by National Chungshan University, it added.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
SECURITY: The New Zealand and Australian navies also sailed military vessels through the Strait yesterday to assert the right of freedom of navigation The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on Wednesday made its first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait in response to the intrusion by a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft into Japan’s sovereign airspace last month, Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The Japanese news platform reported that the destroyer JS Sazanamisailed down through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, citing sources in the Japanese government with knowledge of the matter. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to comment on the reports at a regular briefing because they concern military operations. Military vessels from New Zealand and Australia also sailed through the Strait on the same day, Wellington’s defense ministry
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