In a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island’s defence and deterrence against the Chinese navy. Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday, though the submarine won’t enter service for another two years.
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#Taiwan #TaiwanSubmarine #TaiwanSubmarineProgram #TaiwanDomesticallyBuildSubmarine #Narwhal #TaiwanChinaConflict #Submarine
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NewsTranscript
00:00 In a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defence and deterrence against
00:07 the Chinese navy, Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday,
00:12 though the submarine won't enter service for another two years.
00:17 This is a significant milestone as Taipei works to boost its military deterrence in
00:21 the face of a growing threat from Beijing.
00:23 Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine programme
00:28 a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost
00:34 daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.
00:39 President Tsai Ing-wen, who initiated the plan when she took office in 2016, showed
00:43 off the first of eight new submarines on Thursday in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
00:49 The diesel-electric vehicle was officially named Narwhal in English and Haikun in Mandarin,
00:54 which can be loosely translated as 'sea monster'.
00:59 Tsai said that Narwhal will enter service in 2025, joining two existing submarines purchased
01:05 from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
01:07 In the past, a domestically developed submarine was considered an impossible task.
01:12 But today, a submarine designed and manufactured by our country's people sits before our eyes,
01:17 Tsai said, adding that it would play an important role in strengthening the navy's asymmetric
01:22 warfare capabilities.
01:24 Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take
01:29 the step and allow the self-reliant national defence policy to grow and flourish on our
01:34 land, Tsai said, standing in front of the ship named the Narwhal.
01:38 Taiwan's red flag, featuring a white sun against a blue sky, was wrapped around the submarine's
01:44 bow.
01:45 Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that faced with an increased threat from China's
01:49 military grey zone pressure tactics close to the island with air and naval activities,
01:54 Taiwan had to strengthen its defences.
01:57 Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two such domestically developed submarines by 2027 and possibly
02:02 equip later models with missiles, the head of the programme said this month.
02:07 Taiwan's first homegrown submarine with a price tag of 49.36 billion Taiwanese dollars
02:13 will use a combat system by Lockheed Martin Corp and carry US-made Mark 48 heavyweight
02:19 torpedoes.
02:20 It will enter sea trials next month before delivery to the navy by the end of 2024.
02:25 Admiral Huang Shih-kuang, Tsai's security advisor leading the programme, has described
02:30 the submarines as a strategic deterrent that can also help maintain the island's lifeline
02:35 to the Pacific by keeping ports along Taiwan's eastern coast open.
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02:56 (dramatic music)
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