Taiwan does not need nuclear submarines: President Ma

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Sunday that Taiwan needs diesel-electric submarines rather than nuclear-powered ones and has decided to build the type of craft it requires.

Ma made the remark during a visit to a propeller factory in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County, where he was urged to address the problem of a brain drain in Taiwan's shipbuilding industry.

Cheng Cheng-yi (鄭正義), chairman of Hung Shen Propeller Co., who accompanied Ma on the visit, said Taiwan has the technology to build its own submarines and should rely mainly on domestic rather than overseas supply.

In response, Ma said Taiwan does not need nuclear-powered submarines because that type of craft is unsuitable for the country's surrounding waters, but it does need diesel-electric submarines and has decided to build them itself.

As for the brain drain problem, Ma asked the economics and labor officials who were on the tour with him to work with the shipbuilding industry to devise plans for retaining talent.

(By Kuo Tze-hsuan and Christie Chen)ENDITEM/pc