Taiwan is reportedly investing billions in its naval fleet by building seven new submarines as part of its defense strategy against a potential attack from the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army.
The Indigenous Defense Submarine Program has been allocated $8.88 billion in the new budget, which has been approved by the Cabinet and is set to be presented to legislators this week, according to a report by the South China Morning Post.
Taiwanese Cabinet spokesman Chen Shih-kai emphasized the government’s commitment to enhancing national defense capabilities and maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through indigenous production of vessels and aircraft.
However, the budget plan has sparked criticism from analysts who deem it “irresponsible” due to the lack of completed sea trials for the submarine prototypes.
Former Taiwanese Defense Ministry press secretary Lu De-yun expressed concern over the rush to approve the budget, pointing out that the prototype hasn’t undergone sea trials yet.
He criticized the move as hasty and warned that the subsequent testing and modification process could lead to significant budget inaccuracies. Chieh Chung from the Association of Strategic Foresight echoed these concerns, arguing that the budget should be prepared step by step, rather than allocating a large, long-term sum for mass production when the production configuration is still undetermined.
Peoplesmind