Taiwan’s new submarines ‘ can’t make waves in Straits’

Chinese mainland analysts said Tuesday the Taiwan island does not have what it takes to build advanced submarines, and even with US help, the underwater vehicles could not make waves in the Taiwan Straits, and may suffer from technical difficulties that hinder combat capabilities.

The comments came after reports which suggested that the island began constructing “domestically developed” submarines with the US support which is believed to counter the mainland.

A ceremony for the start of construction for the new submarine fleet was held in Kaohsiung, a southern port city of the island. The Director of the American Institute in Taiwan’s Taipei office, Brent Christensen, also attended the ceremony, Reuters reported.

Taiwan’s shipbuilding industry will face huge challenges in developing an advanced conventional submarine, said Wei Dongxu, a Beijingbased military expert.

With the help of the US, the island could eventually make the submarines work, but due to the inexperience of the island’s industry and the complexity of submarine development, the submarines could suffer technical difficulties that hinder their combat capabilities, Wei said.

While the submarines, if and when commissioned, could conduct reconnaissance and attack missions on the mainland’s naval ports and warships and pose a certain threat, the mainland now possesses very strong capabilities in antisubmarine warfare, Wei said, noting that many mainland warships are equipped with towed sonar systems, anti- submarine warfare helicopters and torpedoes, plus Y- 8 anti- submarine warfare aircraft.