Image source: topwar.ru
At the shipyard in the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan today presented its first Narwhal submarine of domestic production. At a ceremony dedicated to this event, the president of the unrecognized island state, Tsai Ing-wen, said that the appearance of her own submarine was an important milestone for the country.
This is reported by the American TV channel CNN.
The leader of the island said that it is increasing its military power against the background of the strengthening of the "Chinese threat."
Image source: topwar.ru
The Taiwanese-made diesel–electric submarine was named "Narwhal" in English during the ceremony, and "Hai Kun" in the Mandarin dialect of the Chinese language. In both languages, the name means "sea monster".
Cai Yingwen said during the event.
Among those invited to the ceremony were the American Ambassador to Taipei Sandra Oudkirk, as well as diplomats from Japan and South Korea.
Media representatives were allowed to enter the shipyard, but they were not allowed to photograph the submarine in close-up for reasons of secrecy. For the same reason, the detailed technical characteristics of the warship were not disclosed.
During a briefing held last week, Taiwan's National Security Council adviser Admiral Huang Shu-kuan said that the Taiwanese navy will play an important role in deterring China and preventing Beijing from organizing a naval blockade of the island. He noted that a total of eight domestic submarines are planned to be built. Each of them can be equipped with MK-48 torpedoes manufactured by the United States to fight the enemy's surface fleet.
