A top presidential official says that Taiwan’s domestic submarine program has experienced cross-strait interference during its production. Deputy Secretary-General to the President Alex Huang (黃重諺) made the comment during a video interview with Liberty Times.
Huang says China’s constant criticisms of Taiwan’s domestic submarine may indicate concerns that it could hinder China’s force projection and authoritarian expansion.
Taiwan revealed its first domestically built submarine, the Haikun, on September 28. Huang points out that only a few countries build submarines or manufacture parts for them, which makes interference easy. He says that when specific contractors and suppliers for Taiwan’s sub program are hinted at or identified in the media, problems suddenly surface with those companies.
Huang emphasizes that he believes there is strong support for the Haikun program among the Taiwanese people. As the first Haikun sub continues to go through its various testing phases, Huang says it will demonstrate to the public that Taiwan’s submarines are combat ready.