Submarine Development Center inaugurated in Kaohsiung

2016/08/04

The Submarine Development Center was inaugurated Aug. 1 in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, underscoring the commitment of the firm to building the country’s first domestically made submarine.

“The government wants to build Taiwan’s first submarine and more vessels for use by the navy and various government agencies,” CSBC Chairman Cheng Wen-long said during the ceremony. “We are ready to offer our full support to the government and will seek technical assistance from abroad.”

Supporting the national defense industry is one of CSBC’s corporate missions, Cheng said, adding that the Kaohsiung-headquartered firm produced 116 vessels for the Republic of China (Taiwan) navy between 1975 and 2015. These include frigates, missile and patrol boats, as well as transports.

Through utilizing related sectors spanning naval engineering and certification, construction materials and production equipment, the center will boost the competitiveness of the local shipbuilding industry and create jobs, he added.

In addition to expanding collaboration with academic and R&D institutions at home and abroad, Cheng said CSBC will continue fostering local talents so as to enhance the country’s naval engineering proficiency.

One of the policy priorities of the President Tsai Ing-wen administration is strengthening the national defense industry. In line with this commitment, the Ministry of National Defense announced June 20 that the navy will spend NT$470 billion (US$14.84 billion) between 2018 and 2040 on 12 shipbuilding projects.

Indigenous submarine production is a key plank in this policy. During a news conference in the run-up to this year’s ROC presidential election, Tsai said she anticipated the first vessel would be launched by 2026.

During Tsai’s Miami transit stop in June en route to visiting ROC diplomatic allies Panama and Paraguay, she met with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and said Taiwan will need technical support and assistance from the U.S. to achieve its goal of indigenous submarine production.

The ROC navy currently operates four diesel-electric submarines. The Haihu and Hailung were purchased from the Netherlands and commissioned in the late 1980s, while the Haipao and Haishih are former U.S. Navy boats acquired in the early 1970s.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=246708&ctNode=2194&mp=9)