The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) is this month to begin buiilding the 4,000-tonne-class and 600-tonne-class patrol vessels that it has ordered ahead of planning, sources said on Friday.
The CGA in its annual report to the legislature last year said that the four patrol ships of the 4,000-tonne class that it has ordered are to cost NT$10.437 billion (US$338.73 million), while the 12 patrol boats of the 600-tonne class are to cost NT$12.823 billion.
The 4,000-tonne class patrol ships are a modified variant of the navy’s Tuo Chiang-class corvette, which would enable rapid refitting of coast guard ships for war, if necessary, it said.
Photo: Screen grab from CSBC Corp, Taiwan Web site
The coast guard’s 4,000-tonne class patrol ship has stripped down armament compared with the Tuo Chiang corvette prototype, but the patrol ship would have reserved internal space where weapons and equipment could be installed, it said.
For humanitarian missions, the ship’s sick bay would contain surgical suites and other medical facilities, bringing as much life-saving capability to sea as a field hospital, it said.
When responding to a medical crisis, the patrol ships could perform triage, critical care and rapid transportation to an onshore facility, providing seamless medical care onshore, from anchor or at sea, the coast guard said.
Weaopons systems designed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology for both tonnage classes have passed acceptance evaluation by the Fleet Branch, which is to present its findings for the coast guard’s approval, it said.
Other programs to build six ships of the 1,000-tonne class, 17 of the 100-tonne class, 52 of the 35-tonne class and 50 multirole coastal boats are all on track, it added.
With regard to the proposed vessels, the coast guard last year awarded a contractor the NT$4.675 billion deal for the 35-tonne class boats and the mold for the hulls — made by a manufacturer in Poland — passed inspections in Nzovember last year, it said.
The coast guard said it designed the shipbuilding programs with the input of experts and the defense industry to ensure the timely delivery of ships made to specification at the anticipated cost.
The procurement of patrol vessels would help the coast guard perform its mission, and stimulate the defense and technology sectors, it added.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS