The submarine HMS Sea Tiger with hull number 794 is currently undergoing a performance improvement project. The picture shows the Haihu submarine previously cooperating with the Chenggong-class missile frigate to conduct a Spring Festival patrol anti-submarine drill, and surfaced at the end of the mission. (File photo, taken by reporter Cong Changjin)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] With the advancement of the test of the domestic submarine "Hai Kun" and the launch of the subsequent construction plan of 7 ships, plus the completion of the performance improvement of the two Stegosaurus-class submarines, the Navy will have 10 modern submarines. Military sources pointed out today that in the face of the Communist Party's underwater forces, which have more than 60 submarines of various types and have an absolute numerical advantage, my country does not intend to compete with the other side for numbers. Instead, it adopts an asymmetric combat thinking, locking in "underwater silent hunting" and "throat channel blockade", and using its elite combat power to exert the defense effect of small to large.
Military sources said that according to the naval combat plan, these 10 submarines will adopt the internationally accepted "three-three system" rotation principle in the future to ensure that 3 to 4 submarines can maintain a high degree of combat readiness at sea in both peacetime and wartime. In the deployment position, the submarine will not enter the Taiwan Strait, which is shallow and unfavorable for concealment, but will directly deploy in deep-water ambush areas such as the Miyako Strait in the northeast of Taiwan, the Bashi Strait in the southwest, and the eastern seaboard, specifically targeting high-value targets such as Communist aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and cutting off enemy supply lines.
The Haikun submarine is currently undergoing sea testing projects, and the goal of delivering the ship before the end of the year has not changed. (File photo)
The key to daring to face a head-on battle despite the huge disparity in numbers lies in the "hydrological advantage of the home field" and "ultimate silent performance." Both the Haikun class and the upgraded Stegosaurus class are equipped with US-standard advanced combat systems and high-sensitivity sonar. They are extremely quiet in battery propulsion mode and can hear sounds and identify their position earlier than Communist submarines, and launch US-made MK-48 heavy-duty torpedoes preemptively. Coupled with the Navy's long-term surveying and mapping of the surrounding sea areas, it has a clear understanding of the blind spots of undersea sonar. Together with the data link coordination between the Air Force P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and surface ships, it is enough to form a three-dimensional anti-submarine hunting network.
Expanding the horizon to the entire Indo-Pacific waters, the underwater arms race has actually heated up in an all-round way. Among East Asian countries, Japan currently has about 22 cutting-edge all-lithium battery submarines, South Korea also has about 21 submarines and has started the development of nuclear submarines, and North Korea has about 24 main submarines. Around Southeast Asia, Vietnam has six Russian-made Kilo-class submarines, Singapore is expanding its fleet to six state-of-the-art German-made Changsheng-class submarines, and even the Philippines, which currently has no submarines, is actively acquiring two submarines, showing that all countries are making every effort to strengthen their underwater defense capabilities.
Military analysts analyzed that under the general trend of escalating underwater combat capabilities in the Western Pacific, Taiwan's establishment of 10 modern submarine forces was not intended to engage in a full-scale decisive battle with the Communist forces in the open ocean, but to create huge psychological pressure on the enemy's "not knowing where the submarines are." As long as we can effectively suppress the choke points for Communist submarines entering and exiting the Pacific, and force the other side to spend dozens of times the anti-submarine force on the other side, we can gain the most critical strategic time for Taiwan's eastern combat power reserve and foreign aid.
