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.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018 initiative to increase the coast guard fleet to 141 ships by 2027, he added,
The Siraya came from Tsai’s 2022 initiative to build six ships capable of patrolling in high-latitude waters such as the northern Pacific over a decade, Lai said.
The northern Pacific is a crucial fishing region and issues surrounding illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing have been growing.
Photo: CNA
Sister ships of the Siraya would receive names honoring Taiwan’s indigenous peoples, he said.
The CGA is the first line of defense for Taiwan’s territorial waters amid increasingly challenging geopolitical conditions, Lai said, adding that the service bears the burden of simultaneously upholding maritime law and order, national security and navigational safety.
Under Tsai’s leadership, Taiwan in 2018 and 2022 initiated plans to build 141 coast guard vessels by 2027 and six ocean patrol vessels by 2032 respectively, he said.
Photo courtesy of a reader via the Liberty Times
Taiwan continues to expand its homegrown defense industrial base, shipbuilding capacity and capability to project maritime law enforcement and humanitarian operations in international waters, he said.
Lai thanked CBSC and the CGA, saying their state-of-the-art ships and tireless dedication to duty have protected Taiwan’s sovereignty and safety.
The government has prepared seven bills centered on protecting undersea Internet cables, Lai said, referring to the threat posed by Chinese sabotage and storms to the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected.
In a news release, the CBSC said the company has delivered all 15 100-tonne vessels, four out of six 1,000-tonne vessels, and all four 4,000-tonne vessels ordered by the coast guard.
The Taipei is expected to serve in the CGA’s Central Sector Flotilla, it said.
Chiyai-class vessels are equipped with two 20mm cannons and a 2.75-inch rocket launcher controlled by a domestically developed fire control system, as well as three water cannons with an effective range of 120m, it said.
This class of ships additionally features a sick bay equipped with negative-pressure quarantine facilities, surgical suites and a large number of beds to enable humanitarian aid and pandemic response operations, the shipbuilder said.
The vessels have an elevator-equipped helicopter hangar to enable aviation operations, it said.
Chiayi-class ships are fitted with fin stabilizers and auxiliary propulsion units mounted on the hull to increase maneuverability, stability and crew comfort during long-distance patrols, the shipbuilder said.
Ocean patrol vessel the Siraya is a 5,000-tonne ship with an all-steel hull designed for operational endurance, CSBC said, adding that the design is a developmental platform for a patrol vessel variant and a supply ship variant.
The patrol ship variant of the ship is equipped with a 20mm cannon, uncrewed aerial vehicles, three water cannon systems: one high-pressure unit and two dedicated firefighting units capable of projecting foam, the shipbuilder said.
The supply ship variant would be equipped with two multi-purpose cargo containers, a multi-purpose boat and an assault boat to conduct a variety of rescue, law enforcement and transport missions, it said.
The Taipei would take part in maritime exercises and equipment tests as part of a friendship flotilla soon to depart from Taiwan, the CGA said in a separate announcement.
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