DEFENSE/Tsai oversees delivery of 2 indigenous Navy corvettes

Taipei, March 26 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday presided over a ceremony at Suao Harbor, Yilan County, where the Navy of the Republic of China, Taiwan's formal name, took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes.

The corvettes, named An Chiang and Wan Chiang, along with the introduction of the Coast Guard's third and fourth 4,000 tonne plus cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan's shipbuilding capability and signify the country's resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said in her remarks.

The vessels are also the last two Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in a first batch of six ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding by the Navy, Tsai said.

The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was a Ta Chiang Corvette in 2021, with the vessel's excellent performance going on to earn high international praise after it passed operational tests and evaluation, the president said.

The wide recognition motivated the government to speed up corvette production, which allowed for the early delivery of the An Chiang and Wan Chiang on Tuesday, she said.

Tsai said the Tuo Chiang-class corvettes have stealth capability, improved stability, and are the first type of small Navy ships to be equipped with air defense missiles.

The vessels also have a more powerful performance than the outgoing Chin Chiang-class corvettes which they are set to replace, she added.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, which media outlets have described as "carrier killers," are "small but mighty."

With a displacement of only 685 tonnes, these highly mobile corvettes can travel at a speed of 40 knots per hour, Su said.

Their stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, he said.

Crucially, they are equipped with layered weapons systems giving them formidable firepower, including TC-2N air defense missiles, the Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles, and the OTO Melara 76mm guns, he explained.

If those are not enough to deal with enemy threats, the corvettes have the Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS), which can intercept missiles, as their final line of defense, he said.

In addition, the corvettes can be used in combination with land vehicle-mounted missile systems under the planned coastal combat command to guard offshore areas and prevent enemies from attempting landing operations, while the country's submarines are deployed further from shore as a deterrence, thereby forming a multilayered barrier zone, Su said.

The Navy plans to acquire five more Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, the contract for which, according to local media reports, was awarded to Lungteh in March 2023.