Taiwan reveals first domestically made submarine in defense milestone.

Although it won’t enter service for another two years, Taiwan displayed its first domestically manufactured submarine on Thursday, marking an important milestone in a program to improve the island’s defense and deterrent against the Chinese Navy.

As Beijing conducts military drills nearly daily to reaffirm its sovereignty, Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, has made the indigenous submarine program a crucial component of an ambitious drive to modernize its armed forces.

On Thursday in the southern city of Kaohsiung, President Tsai Ing-wen, who started the plan when she assumed office in 2016, unveiled the first of eight new submarines.

“Creating a submarine in the United States was formerly considered impossible. But now, a submarine created and produced by the citizens of our nation is in front of us, Tsai said, adding that it will be crucial in enhancing the Navy’s “asymmetric warfare” capabilities.

Standing before the ship, known as the Narwhal, Tsai stated, “Taiwan must take this step and enable the self-reliant national defense strategy to bloom and blossom on our territory, even if there are dangers and no matter how many problems there are. The submarine’s bow was draped with Taiwan’s crimson flag, which featured a white sun against a blue sky.

According to Tsai, the Narwhal will join two current submarines acquired from the Netherlands in the 1980s when they both entered service in 2025.

When asked about the submarine and how it may prevent China from encircling the island at a normal monthly press briefing, the Chinese defense ministry said that Taiwan was “over-rating itself and attempting something impossible.”

Spokesman Wu Qian told reporters in Beijing that any notion of stopping the People’s Liberation Army from entering the Pacific Ocean was “idiotic nonsense.”

DIPLOMATIC BREACH
Several nations have contributed knowledge and technology to the domestic submarine program, representing a milestone for diplomatically isolated Taiwan.

According to Cheng Wen-lon, CEO of Taiwan’s CSBC Corp (2208. TW), the submarine’s local content, which oversaw construction, was roughly 40%. He made no overt reference to foreign involvement in his address in Kaohsiung.

Sandra Oudkirk, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan, attended the event, underscoring the significance of the country’s security connection with the island despite the absence of formal ties. The biggest weaponry supplier to Taiwan is the United States.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu told reporters in Taipei that Taiwan needed to bolster its defenses due to the growing threat posed by China’s military “grey zone” pressure tactics near the island with air and naval actions.

“One of those tactics is getting a new submarine. I would strongly support Taiwan acquiring submarines if anyone disputes its submarine policy because doing so is necessary to prevent conflict from breaking out, Wu stated.

According to the program’s leader, Taiwan intends to deploy at least two home-built submarines by 2027 and maybe arm subsequent versions with missiles.

The first submarine will cost T$49.36 billion ($1.53 billion), including a Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) fighting system, and utilize Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes developed in the United States. Before being delivered to the Navy by the end of 2024, it will begin sea testing the following month.

The submarines have been referred to as a “strategic deterrent” that can also assist in preserving the island’s “lifeline” to the Pacific by keeping ports along Taiwan’s eastern coast accessible, according to Admiral Huang Shu-Kuang, Tsai’s security adviser who is in charge of the program.