Republic of China MoD press release
The ceremony was held at Su’ao Longde Shipyard in Yilan, where Yilan County Mayor, Lin Chi-Miao, Legislative Councilors Wang Dingyu and Chen Ou-Po were invited to witness the glorious moment of the navy. After that, Minister Qiu presented the first captain, Rear Admiral Liu, with the Navy flag, and the Ta Jiang was officially handed over to the Navy as a force to defend the sea border.
In his speech, Mr. Qiu expressed his gratitude to the Navy, CAS and Longde project team for their unfailing cooperation and the support from the domestic shipbuilding industry.
Minister Chiu pointed out that the warship named by President Tsai, the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, was especially named after the Tawa River in Taitung County, which is the living area of the indigenous Paiwan people, and the Paiwan people are brave and courageous by nature, which can be emulated by all officers and men. In addition, the President named the warship after a geographical feature of Taiwan that is familiar to all, to remind every officer and soldier of the national army that they have the responsibility to stand in the front line of protecting democracy and freedom, to be a fortress and lighthouse on the sea of Taiwan, and to guard the sea border of the Republic of China.
Minister Chiu further said the ‘Ta Jiang’ not only has strong combat firepower and high maneuverability, which can quickly carry out joint fire attack missions, but also is equipped with Haijian II anti-aircraft missiles, which is not only the first small ship of the Navy with regional anti-aircraft firepower, but also a key combat force for the National Army to effectively carry out “defense and heavy deterrence“.
Minister Qiu stressed that the national defense is a long way to go, and there is no such thing as a cheap national defense. The delivery ceremony of the ‘Ta Jiang’ not only showed the determination of the national army in defending the sea border, but also proved that the policy of promoting the autonomy of national defense can provide nutrients for the economic growth and innovative technology of the industry, so that the industry can break through the adversity and maintain its competitiveness, creating a win-win situation of “enhancing the combat capability of the national army”, “strengthening the energy of R&D” and “promoting the development of the industry“.
Finally, Minister Qiu encouraged the officers and men of the ‘Ta Jiang’ to be prepared to fight against epidemics and enemies, which is the major task of the national army at this stage, and to be prepared to continue to strengthen all kinds of training work after joining the naval family. The Navy will also provide the strongest and most powerful protection for national security and social stability.
The Naval Command said that the project was commissioned by the Ministry of National Defense and the National Institute of Science and Technology of Zhongshan to speed up the shipbuilding process to enhance the navy’s defense force in response to the rapidly increasing enemy threat. We will continue to uphold a prudent and strict attitude and risk control to implement the policy of national shipbuilding.
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Naval News comments
According to Lungteh Shipbuilding, The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes have a length of 60.4 meters, displacement of 685 tons, a range of 1,800 nautical miles, and a maximum speed of 43 knots.
As the first upgraded and modified unit of the Tuo Chang-class corvette, Ta Chiang had her keel laid on May 24, 2019. and was launched and named on December 15, 2020. The ship came out from the shipyard and started sea trial on May 3.
The follow-ups ships in the class were planned to come in two variants, air-defense (anti-air warfare – AAW) and anti-ship (anti-surface warfare – ASuW). According to ROC Navy officials, the three ships of the first batch will put a great emphasis on air-defense capability, and will be equipped with the TC-2N surface to air missile (SAM) developed by local company NCSIST.
The three ships of second batch will be anti-ship version fitted with subsonic Hsiung Feng-II and supersonic Hisung Feng-III anti-ship missiles, emphasizing countering China’s surface ships.
However, on December 2018, a governing DPP’s legislator of foreign affairs and defense committee of Taiwan’s parliament said that the 11 follow-ups of Tuo Chinag will come in a single variant: There will be no distinction between AAW and ASuW versions. The anti-submarine capability (ASW) will also be removed. The project of building all 11 ships is scheduled to finish in 2026.