The Ministry of National Defense yesterday unveiled a 15-year plan to modernize the Republic of China (ROC) Navy, focusing on domestic shipbuilding with a budget of about NT$200 billion (US$6.2 billion), while a research committee is to assess a program to develop a submarine fleet.
Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) presented the plan alongside top navy officials ,which he said would provide the needed warships and weapons to defend the nation and its maritime territories in a conflict situation and would also spur growth and elevate the nation’s technological capacity in defense.
A NT$196 billion budget has been allocated for the domestic shipbuilding program, which is to go toward the construction of 138 warships, missile cruisers, fast-attack boats and other vessels, according to a report submitted by Feng at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
According to the report, most of the construction of the 138 vessels has been completed, with many undergoing sea trials and testing of their operations and weaponry systems.
The vessels were contracted to China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC), Jong Shyn Shipbuilding and Ching Fu Shipbuilding, all based at Kaohsiung Port, along with Lung Teh Shipbuilding, which has its shipyard in Yilan County.
Another NT$60 billion has been allocated to start construction next year of unspecified numbers of amphibious transport vessels, mine-layer boats, mine-hunting ships and Tuo Jiang-class guided missile corvettes, Feng said.
The ministry is also to commission the state-enterprise Ship and Ocean Industries Research and Development Center to undertake research and feasibility studies on developing a national submarine manufacturing program, with a budget of NT$30 million.
Naval officials said that diesel engines and electrical supply systems for submarines would need to be procured from overseas.
Feng also told lawmakers that the military would make every effort to bolster personnel training and improve military discipline.
Feng, said that he has given a directive that the military review its personnel training procedures within 45 days and work to improve them.
Chief of General Staff general Yen De-fa (嚴德發) is to then inspect each military unit, he added.
Additional Reporting by CNA
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or