Taiwan on Tuesday confirmed it plans to study the feasibility of building a submarine fleet on its own in a move that suggests it is running out of patience over a long-stalled U.S. offer to supply eight of the warships.
The navy hopes to come up with an in-depth
report in four years on items ranging from design and acquisition of equipment,
to construction capabilities and product tests and evaluation, according to a
defense ministry statement. The report will cost around Tw $140 million ($4.7
million) to be financed by a defense ministry-controlled fund, it said.
“The move is a crucial sign showing that
the navy has dropped the idea of purchasing submarines from the United States
and decided to build them at home,” a naval source was quoted by the Liberty Times
as saying.
The paper said an initial naval evaluation
report indicated that the island’s leading shipyard, CSBC Corporation, had
acquired expertise to build the sophisticated warships. But Taiwan is still
short of critical know-how on development of submarine fighting systems, sonars
and torpedo launch tubes, it said.
In April 2001, then-U.S. President George
W. Bush approved the sale of eight conventional submarines as part of
Washington’s most comprehensive arms package to the island since 1992. Since
then, however, there has been little progress as the United States has not
built conventional submarines for more than 40 years and Germany and Spain have
reportedly declined to offer their designs for fear of offending China.
The Taiwanese navy currently operates a
fleet of four submarines, but only two of them, Dutch-built, could be deployed
in the event of war. The other two were built by the United States in the
1940s.
Tensions between Taiwan and China have
eased markedly since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power on a platform of
beefing up trade links and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit. Ma was
re-elected in January 2012. But Taiwan, which has governed itself since 1949,
still sees a need to modernize its armed forces because China regards the
island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
