Taiwanese media: Prototype ship launched in September, with Tsai Ing wen insisting on investing heavily in "self built" submarines
In fact, as early as July, there were reports on the island that the launch ceremony of the "submarine self built" prototype ship would be held in late September. At that time, some Taiwanese retired generals who were very familiar with submarines pointed out that the ceremony could only be a "shell sealing" rather than a "launch" ceremony, with an appearance that could be seen as a "launch" ceremony, which is the Democratic Progressive Party's "grand internal announcement".
According to reports, according to the defense budget released by the Democratic Progressive Party authorities for the next year, the budget for subsequent submarines built by themselves was not included, but whether it was included in the "confidential budget" is unknown to the outside world. However, the budget for the so-called "submarine self built" prototype ship includes a budget for "preliminary optimization of the prototype ship", which includes engineering analysis, simulation, and evaluation. Taiwanese media stated that the time point for completing the "shell sealing" of the prototype ship before the end of the month is not specified in the subsequent ship budget. It is thought-provoking to compile such a budget next year.
It is understood that Taiwan's "submarine self built" plan began in 2014 and was officially put on the agenda in 2017, with a total budget of NT $400 billion. The prototype boat was originally scheduled to be launched in May 2024, but the voting date for the 2024 Taiwan regional leadership election was January 13, 2024. If the prototype boat was launched in May, it would obviously not be able to help the Democratic Progressive Party's election, and it is not surprising that the DPP authorities have always equated "shell sealing" with "launch".
Previously, there were reports that it was a "submarine built" project, and the Democratic Progressive Party authorities spent a lot of money secretly building an expert team. They hired a large technical team and retired naval generals from at least six countries, including the UK, Australia, South Korea, India, Spain, and Canada. Even the toilet on the ship was priced at $80000, and the battle was not insignificant.
Moreover, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities claimed to equip them with American made torpedoes and anti-ship weapons, but were avoided due to the inability of the US to guarantee delivery dates.