Fri, Jun 23, 2000 page3

• Navy allows a rare glimpse of sub

  MILITARY CAPABILITY The press was taken on a diving demonstration in the submarine, but was only allowed limited access to the top-secret torpedo room

  • By Brian Hsu / STAFF REPORTER
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  For the first time yesterday, the navy opened its usually closed doors and allowed the press to view one of only two modern submarines in its fleet.

  The navy allowed the press to experience the sub's underwater operation in a diving trip off southern Kaohsiung. The press was also allowed, for the first time, to view the top-secret torpedo room of the submarine, which is a "Sea Tiger," one of the two Zwaardvis-class conventional diesel-powered subs which Taiwan bought from Holland in the late 1980s.

  Photography, however, was prohibited in the torpedo room and the stockpile of torpedoes there were covered from view.

  

  A "Sea Tiger" submarine, one of Taiwan's two Zwaardvis-class conventional diesel-powered subs.

  PHOTO: BRIAN HSU, TAIPEI TIMES

  A submarine officer explained: "The type of torpedoes we use is still top-secret. We would put ourselves in danger if we let the enemy [the Chinese] know what kinds of weapons we have."

  Another submariner, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "All we can say is that the torpedoes we have are wire-guided and have a very powerful warhead, which can virtually destroy any surface or underwater target in a single strike."

  "The Chinese navy is quite intimidated by our torpedoes. It is one of the reasons why they are deterred from using submarines or surface ships to harass us, despite enjoying an obvious advantage over us in terms of numbers," the officer said.

  During yesterday's diving trip, the Sea Tiger demonstrated a series of maneuvers, including snorkel diving, emergency diving and combat readiness.

  The demonstration was in contrast to a similar event several months ago, when the navy allowed for the first time a foreign newspaper, the Washington Post, to board a Taiwanese submarine, one of the two vintage US-made Guppy-class subs. The opening of the Guppy-class sub for view by foreign media was considered by some to be a public relations disaster since the Washington Post story described exactly what it saw, calling the sub a "beached whale."

  Yesterday's submarine trip was possibly more successful, as it helped the press understand what the navy can do with a modern submarine. The trip lasted four hours, starting from the sub's base in Kaohsiung's Tsoying naval base, heading to a point about 15km west of the port before turning around to return to base.

  Captain Li Chao-peng (李肇鵬), commander of the 256th submarine flotilla, comprised of the two Holland-made subs, said, "The Zwaardvis-class sub, though a little old now, is still one of the best of its category in the world."

  "It is superior to many of the submarines in service in the Chinese navy. It can even compete with a nuclear-powered one. The only advantage that a nuclear submarine has over a conventionally-powered one is its endurance under the sea," Li said. "But a diesel-powered sub like ours is much quieter than a nuclear one."

  In operation since 1988, the Sea Tiger has gone through many tough maneuvers in an attempt to exploit its capabilities to the maximum.

  It performed, for instance, the longest-ever underwater endurance test several years ago, setting a record of 34 days, some say over 60 days.

  A naval officer lamented that it was a pity that the navy could not acquire more modern submarines like the Sea Tiger.

  "If we cannot buy any more submarines from foreign countries, we may as well start planning to build subs on our own. We have almost all the required technology to build a sub," the officer said.

  "It is never too late to take action. If we start planning now, we could expect to see our first indigenously-built subs in seven years," he said. "The ideal number of subs for Taiwan is around 12."
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