Taiwan inducts new amphibious ship in push to bolster indigenous defence industry

CSBC, TAIWAN

30/09/2022 05:26

By Ann Wang
       KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Taiwan's navy
took delivery on Friday of a new, domestically made amphibious
warfare ship that can be used to land troops and bolster supply
lines to vulnerable islands, part of President Tsai Ing-wen's
defence self-sufficiency push. 
    The 10,600-tonne Yu Shan, named after Taiwan's tallest
mountain, is the latest development in Tsai's ambitious
programme to modernise the armed forces amid increased pressure
from China, which claims the island as its own.
    Speaking at the delivery ceremony in the southern port city
of Kaohsiung, Tsai said the ship was a testament to Taiwan's
efforts to boost production of its own warships and achieve the
goal of "national defence autonomy".
    "When it comes to China's military threats, only by
strengthening our self-defence capabilities can there be true
peace," she said. "It is our constant policy and determination
to implement national defence autonomy so that the military has
the best equipment to defend the country."
    China carried out war games near Taiwan last month to show
its anger at a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, and Chinese military activity has continued though at a
much reduced tempo.
    Built by state-backed CSBC Corporation Taiwan  2208.TW , the
ship is armed with a cannon for use against air and surface
targets, anti-aircraft missiles and rapid-fire Phalanx close-in
anti-aircraft and anti-missile guns.
    CSBC Chairman Cheng Wen-lung said as well as being an
amphibious warfare vessel, with space for landing craft and
helicopters, it will assume the "main transport role" for the
South China Sea and offshore Taiwanese islands that lie close to
the Chinese coast, long considered easy targets for China in the
event of war.
    Though the United States is Taiwan's most important
international arms supplier, Tsai has bolstered the domestic
arms industry to try to make Taiwan as self-sufficient as
possible.
    Although Taiwan's air force has benefited from big-ticket
items such as new and upgraded F-16s, the navy is another of
Tsai's focuses, with submarines in production and a launch in
2020 of the first of a fleet of highly manoeuvrable stealth
corvettes.
 (Reporting by Ann Wang; Writing by Ben Blanchard. Editing by
Gerry Doyle)
 ((ben.blanchard@thomsonreuters.com;))