On 20/11/2020 the Taiwanese government announced that the construction project of eight new submarines will soon begin, which will replace the four currently available. The goal is to improve and increase the nation's defenses in the face of Beijing's constant military threat.
It should not be forgotten that the People's Republic of China considers Taiwan as part of its territory under the "one China" principle, which is not recognized today by Taipei, e on whose interpretation the island has always emphasized the divergence with China1. This has been the case since 1949, when General Chiang Kai Shek's nationalist army was forced to retreat to the island after the defeat suffered by Mao's communist forces. From that moment there is always the threat of being annexed to the people of Taiwan militarily from Beijing.
As for the submarines, the Taiwanese government is confident that the first could be launched in 2024 but many analysts have observed that Taiwan does not have the technical skills to build them, which is why it is making use of foreign collaborations.
The fact remains, however undisputed, that Taipei can count on the support of the United States. Just think of Washington's arms sales to the island in recent weeks including: four MQ-9B attack drones SkyGuardian (with anti-ship and anti-submarine attack capabilities) and “400 anti-ship missiles Harpoon and 100 mobile missile launchers of the same weapon system "2. For a total that is around 5 billion dollars. Not forgetting the purchase by Taiwan, in August, of 66 F-16 fighters from Lockheed Martin (a deal worth 6,2 billion dollars over 10 years).
1https://www.agi.it/estero/news/2020-09-19/tensioni-taiwan-cina-cosa-fann...
2http://www.asianews.it/notizie-it/Washington-vender%C3%A0-droni-dattacco...
Photo: ROC Navy
