Taiwan has commissioned two new naval vessels as a safeguard against the growing threat from China. China has gradually increased its naval and air force missions around Taiwan, which it claims as its own territory and can annex by force if necessary.
The pair of Tuo Chiang-class corvettes completes the first order for six domestic catamarans with stealth capabilities. These ships are relatively small, carrying only 41 sailors and officers, but they are fast and maneuverable, and carry a variety of missiles aimed at countering large Chinese ships and rockets. It is equipped with a deck gun.
Outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday oversaw commissioning of the northern port of Su’ao, marking a push to revitalize Taiwan’s defense industry alongside major arms purchases and support from the United States, a key ally. emphasized.
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Tsai is also rapidly moving forward with production of training aircraft and the island’s first domestically built submarine, overcoming resistance from representatives of the opposition Kuomintang Party, which supports eventual unification with China, and at times pushing through Congress to push for such plans. It’s pushing the purchasing budget.
Ma Ying-jeou, the last president of the Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang, is planning a visit to China next month, which could reportedly include a meeting with Communist Party leader Xi Jinping.
Taiwan was colonized by China in the 1600s, then occupied by Japan, and returned to the Republic of China after World War II. The two sides then split again during the Communist Civil War in 1949. Mr. Xi is building up his military in a bid to strengthen China’s territorial claims in the Pacific Ocean, the South China Sea and along its disputed high mountain border with India.
China boasts the world’s largest standing army with three aircraft carriers and the largest navy, but has not been involved in a major conflict since its brief invasion of Vietnam in 1979. Since then, the country’s military budget has swelled to the second largest in the world after the United States, in parallel with a significant economic expansion, but the economy is now losing momentum.
This photo released by Taiwan’s Presidential Office shows a newly commissioned naval vessel in northern Taiwan’s Su’ao port on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Taiwan Presidential Office, Associated Press)
Most recently, patrol vessels collided near Taiwanese-controlled islands just off the Chinese coast, renewing concerns that the conflict could involve the United States, which It has a legal obligation to guarantee its defense and takes into account all threats to Taiwan. as a matter of “grave concern”.
Although Taiwan’s military is vastly inferior in strength, it has been strengthened by the introduction of new weapons and the extension of the period of universal national service for men from four months to one year. The Air Force, Navy, and Missile Command also respond to incursions by Chinese ships and aircraft on an almost daily basis.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said it was on alert for a Chinese surprise attack, possibly targeting Tsai or Vice President William Lai, who will take over the top job in May. Both are despised by the Chinese government as separatists. Recent Taiwanese media reports have shown satellite images of Chinese People’s Liberation Army training grounds, including models around the Presidential Palace in Taipei.
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Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense announced that nine Chinese aircraft and six ships were spotted operating around Taiwan between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.
In Beijing on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Cabinet Taiwan Affairs Office criticized live-fire exercises by Taiwan’s military scheduled for next month near the Taiwan-controlled Kinmen Islands just off the Chinese coast.
“Any provocative action taken by Taiwan’s military is doomed to failure,” Chen Binhua said at a biweekly press conference.
