Lai praises progress on next-generation light frigate at keel-laying ceremony

Kaohsiung, Nov. 4 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) praised the progress made in Taiwan's ongoing domestic shipbuilding project, while presiding over a keel-laying ceremony for an indigenous-built light frigate prototype in Kaohsiung on Monday.

Speaking at the ceremony held at Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co.'s shipyard, Lai said it took the company about a year to reach the second phase of constructing the 2,500-ton light frigate prototype.

In November 2023, then-President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) presided over a commencement ceremony for the anti-air light frigate prototype, according to Lai.

Monday marks a major milestone in the country's indigenous ship and aircraft construction project, Lai said.

He added that the project, initiated during Tsai's administration, has exemplified Taiwan's determination to defend itself while boosting the local defense industry's development.

According to Lai, the prototype is the first Republic of China Navy vessel classified as a "Tier 2," or second class, combat ship.

Once it enters service, the vessel will be equipped with domestically built anti-ship and anti-air missiles developed by the military's top research unit, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, and will be responsible for patrolling seas around the country, the president said.

Laying the keel or laying down is one of several celebrated events in the life of a ship, signifying a major progress in the vessel's construction. The other ceremonies normally include launching, commissioning and decommissioning.

The anti-air light frigate prototype is one of two being built by the Kaohsiung-based Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co. The other is an anti-submarine prototype, both of which are scheduled to be delivered to the Navy by October 2026.

According to the Navy, the vessels will respond to situations in the "gray zone," patrol the Taiwan Strait, conduct reconnaissance and surveillance missions, escort transport ships and supplies to remote islands, secure sea lines of communication, and support military exercises and training.

Gray-zone tactics are generally defined as coercive actions that do not meet the threshold of conventional warfare. They can refer to Chinese aircraft flying maneuvers not far from Taiwan or China's use of fishing fleets to stake out waters at sea.