Current:Home > MyTaiwan unveils first domestically made submarine to help defend against possible Chinese attack -GoldenEdge Insights
Taiwan unveils first domestically made submarine to help defend against possible Chinese attack
View
Date:2025-04-22 20:35:35
Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed military submarine Thursday, as the democratic, self-governing island ramps up its defenses with anxiety building about the possibility of China launching an attack.
"Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take this step and allow the self-reliant national defense policy to grow and flourish on our land," Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen said at the unveiling ceremony.
The diesel-electric submarine, called "Haikun," cost $1.5 billion and still needs to undergo further tests before it's deployed. It will be handed over to the Taiwanese navy in 2024, CBS News partner network BBC News reported.
It is the first of eight submarines Taiwan plans to build, according to the Reuters news agency, and will join two others that were purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, considering it a breakaway province to eventually be brought under the control of Beijing.
Tension between Taiwan and Beijing has been high for decades, but recent pledges to bring the island under China's control by President Xi Xinping have led many to believe the possibility of a military conflict is greater now than ever before.
Taiwan has been working, in coordination with its partners in Washington, to modernize its armed forces in the face of almost daily military exercises by Beijing.
Asked during a weekly briefing whether China felt the new submarine could help Taiwan prevent a naval blockade by Beijing, if China were to try to impose one, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense said Taiwan was, "over-rating itself and attempting something impossible," according to the Reuters news agency.
The Haikun will carry U.S.-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes and use a combat system manufactured by U.S. defense industry giant Lockhead Martin.
- In:
- Taiwan
- War
- Submarine
- South China Sea
- Navy
- China
Haley Ott is an international reporter for CBS News based in London.
TwitterveryGood! (5)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- The Fate of Kim Zolciak's $6 Million Mansion Revealed Amid Kroy Biermann Divorce
- Deer struggling in cold Alaskan waters saved by wildlife troopers who give them a lift in their boat
- Memo to Joe Manchin, Congress: Stop clutching your pearls as college athletes make money
- Elon Musk's skyrocketing net worth: He's the first person with over $400 billion
- Guinness World Records names Pepper X the new hottest pepper
- Gaza’s doctors struggle to save hospital blast survivors as Middle East rage grows
- Kansas isn't ranked in preseason women's college basketball poll. Who else got snubbed?
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Hydrate Your Skin With $140 Worth of First Aid Beauty for Only $63
Ranking
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Love Is Blind Villain Uche Answers All Your Burning Questions After Missing Reunion
- Jax Taylor Reveals He’s in “Contract Negotiations” With Brittany for Baby No. 2
- Musk’s X tests $1 fee for new users in the Philippines and New Zealand in bid to target spam
- Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
- Hailee Steinfeld and Buffalo Bills Quarterback Josh Allen Step Out for Date Night on the Ice
- How the Secret Service plans to keep President Biden safe in Israel: ANALYSIS
- Retired Army colonel seeking Democratic nomination for GOP-held House seat in central Arkansas
Recommendation
Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
How does the U.S. retirement system stack up against other countries? Just above average.
Jurors in New Mexico deliver split verdicts in kidnapping and terrorism case
Ukraine uses US-supplied long-range missiles for 1st time in Russia airbase attack
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
FDA proposes ban on hair-straightening, smoothing products over cancer-causing chemicals
Bike riding in middle school may boost mental health, study finds
Ukraine uses US-supplied long-range missiles for 1st time in Russia airbase attack