President William Lai (賴清德) praised the progress made in Taiwan’s ongoing domestic shipbuilding project, while presiding over a keel-laying ceremony for a domestically built light frigate prototype in Kaohsiung yesterday.
Speaking at Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co (中信造船), Lai said it took the company about a year to reach the second phase of constructing the 2,500-tonne light frigate prototype.
In November last year, then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) presided over a commencement ceremony for the anti-air light frigate prototype, Lai said.
Photo: Daniel Ceng, EPA-EFE
Yesterday marked a major milestone in the nation’s indigenous ship and aircraft construction project, Lai said.
The project, initiated during Tsai’s administration, exemplifies Taiwan’s determination to defend itself while boosting the local defense industry’s development, he added.
The prototype is the first navy vessel classified as a “Tier 2,” or second class, combat ship, he said.
Once it enters service, the vessel would be equipped with domestically built anti-ship and anti-air missiles developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the military’s top research unit, and would be responsible for patrolling seas around the nation, he said.
Laying the keel is one of several celebrated events in the life of a ship, signifying the beginning of the vessel’s construction.
Other ceremonies include launching, commissioning and decommissioning.
The anti-air light frigate prototype is one of two being built by the Kaohsiung-based Jong Shyn.
The other one is an anti-submarine prototype. Both are scheduled to be delivered to the navy by October 2026.
The navy said the vessels would patrol the Taiwan Strait, respond to situations in the “gray zone,” conduct reconnaissance and surveillance missions, escort transport ships and supplies to remote islands, secure sea lines of communication, and support training and exercises.
“Gray zone” tactics are generally defined as coercive actions that are below the threshold of war.
They can refer to Chinese aircraft flying maneuvers near Taiwan or China’s use of fishing fleets to stake out waters.
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