Taiwan To Complete Blueprint Design For Its Indigenous Submarines This Year

Taiwan plans to finish a design blueprint for its indigenous submarines to replace its aging fleet soon, China Post reported today.

“We plan to complete the design by the end of this year,” an unnamed official with the Navy's Division of Planning was quoted as saying during the 2014 Sea Lines of Communication Conference at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.

Once the design is completed, “we plan to begin building the submarine in two years,” the official said.

Apart from building indigenous submarines, Taiwan was also looking to buy submarines from overseas. Taiwan is still hoping for U.S. assistance in helping it acquire diesel-electric submarines, but “we cannot just keep waiting,” he said.

“Taiwan has presented its two proposals on obtaining submarines from the US during the recent US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference held last week. A formal response from the US in regard to this has not yet come although US has considered the proposals,” he added.

Taiwan has been seeking to develop its own submarines as the 2001 proposal by the then US president George Bush to acquire diesel electric submarines has had no progress.