00:00 In a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defence and deterrence against
00:07 the Chinese navy, Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday,
00:12 though the submarine won't enter service for another two years.
00:17 This is a significant milestone as Taipei works to boost its military deterrence in
00:21 the face of a growing threat from Beijing.
00:23 Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine programme
00:28 a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost
00:34 daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.
00:39 President Tsai Ing-wen, who initiated the plan when she took office in 2016, showed
00:43 off the first of eight new submarines on Thursday in the southern city of Kaohsiung.
00:49 The diesel-electric vehicle was officially named Narwhal in English and Haikun in Mandarin,
00:54 which can be loosely translated as 'sea monster'.
00:59 Tsai said that Narwhal will enter service in 2025, joining two existing submarines purchased
01:05 from the Netherlands in the 1980s.
01:07 In the past, a domestically developed submarine was considered an impossible task.
01:12 But today, a submarine designed and manufactured by our country's people sits before our eyes,
01:17 Tsai said, adding that it would play an important role in strengthening the navy's asymmetric
01:22 warfare capabilities.
01:24 Even if there are risks, and no matter how many challenges there are, Taiwan must take
01:29 the step and allow the self-reliant national defence policy to grow and flourish on our
01:34 land, Tsai said, standing in front of the ship named the Narwhal.
01:38 Taiwan's red flag, featuring a white sun against a blue sky, was wrapped around the submarine's
01:44 bow.
01:45 Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that faced with an increased threat from China's
01:49 military grey zone pressure tactics close to the island with air and naval activities,
01:54 Taiwan had to strengthen its defences.
01:57 Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two such domestically developed submarines by 2027 and possibly
02:02 equip later models with missiles, the head of the programme said this month.
02:07 Taiwan's first homegrown submarine with a price tag of 49.36 billion Taiwanese dollars
02:13 will use a combat system by Lockheed Martin Corp and carry US-made Mark 48 heavyweight
02:19 torpedoes.
02:20 It will enter sea trials next month before delivery to the navy by the end of 2024.
02:25 Admiral Huang Shih-kuang, Tsai's security advisor leading the programme, has described
02:30 the submarines as a strategic deterrent that can also help maintain the island's lifeline
02:35 to the Pacific by keeping ports along Taiwan's eastern coast open.
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02:56 (dramatic music)
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