Ex-submarine program head resigns from National Security Council post

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), an admiral who supervised the critical initial stages of Taiwan's Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) program, has resigned as an adviser to the National Security Council for family reasons, the Presidential Office said Sunday.

Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) praised Huang for his decades of service to Taiwan's defense and for leading the challenging effort to build the nation's first domestically produced submarine.

Huang joined the National Security Council in 2021, two years after he was appointed convener of the IDS program in 2019. He also briefly served as Chief of the General Staff from January 2020 to January 2021.

As head of Taiwan's indigenous submarine program, Huang oversaw the early stages, including negotiating foreign procurement, securing restricted components, and finalizing the submarine's design.

His leadership culminated in the launch of the Narwhal, Taiwan's first locally built submarine, in September 2023.

Lai described the launch as a milestone in strengthening Taiwan's defense self-reliance and noted that subsequent work has since advanced smoothly.

Given his central role in developing Taiwan's submarine program, Huang's resignation sparked speculation about any potential impact on the Narwhal's ongoing sea trials and the building of further submarines.

However, naval officials said Huang already stepped down as convener in April 2024, staying on only as a consultant while Navy Commander Admiral Tang Hua (唐華) assumed responsibility for the project's management.

A source familiar with the program told CNA that Huang remained in the advisory role at Lai's request for more than a year but now felt his contributions were limited as the project had entered a more stable phase.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the IDS program is a collective effort undertaken by the Navy and shipbuilder CSBC Corp., Taiwan.

Huang's greatest contribution, he added, was providing direction and steering the program through its most difficult initial stage.