Submarine head’s departure could impact program

The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said

Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday.

Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities.

Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he set out to do.

The resignation also coincides with the handing off of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to the in-coming administration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), Vivian Huang said.

Huang Shu-kuang recently filed defamation lawsuits against media personalities demanding NT$2 million (US$61,557) in damages over allegations of corruption during his time overseeing the submarine project.

Under the admiral’s watch, the nation’s first domestically made submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, was launched in Kaohsiung in September last year. It is undergoing harbor acceptance tests.

CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船) chairman Cheng Wen-lon (鄭文隆) last month said that the nation’s first domestically built submarine would be ready for delivery by the deadline of Nov. 3 next year.

Huang Shu-kuang’s plan was to stagger the production of seven indigenous submarines over three phases: three in the first phase, including the Hai Kun prototype and two others, followed by a final batch with performance upgrades.

The source said that during an internal meeting, Lai asked that production funding for the submarines be provided in full in one budget.

However, with Huang Shukuang’s exit, the Ministry of National Defense and Navy Command Headquarters would take over the project, which would change production timelines, the source said.

Navy Commander Tang Hua (唐華) has other opinions regarding the construction of a naval force and improving combat readiness, such as the planned littoral combatant command, they said.

According to the navy, the command would control the Hai Feng Shore Based Anti-ship Missile Group, a unit of speedboats armed with anti-air and surfaceto-surface missiles, and maritime surveillance. The command would oversee all defense-related affairs within 24 nautical miles (44.4km) of the coast.

Tang has also commented on submarine production, saying that their manufacture, equipment and functions, and strategic deployment should be based on the combat environment that Taiwan might face.

That could require new thinking on how submarines would be deployed, the source said.

Whether Tang’s opinions on the program would align with National Security Council Deputy SecretaryGeneral Wellington Koo’s (顧立雄) vision or would receive the support of Lai, depends on the who is in the Cabinet after the presidential inauguration on May 20, the source said.