Kaohsiung, April 9 (CNA) The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Friday took delivery of two new vessels including one 600-ton armed patrol corvette that it said will patrol coastal areas of Taiwan.
Newest Anping-class ship joins coast guard s fleet taipeitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from taipeitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
(This article first appeared in December 2020.)
This year China sent a loud and clear message to the U.S. Navy when the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted several tests of its new “aircraft carrier killer” missiles. However, Beijing may have received a similar, and notably as clear message from Taipei this month after the Taiwanese Navy announced that it has launched the first of its heavily armed “carrier killer” corvettes.
The domestically-produced vessels have been touted as a key component to the independent island nation’s defense efforts against its mainland neighbor. The corvettes, which have earned the nickname “aircraft carrier killers,” are armed with subsonic and supersonic missiles.
Could these smaller, missile-toting ships actually pose a threat to large Chinese aircraft carriers?
This year China sent a loud and clear message to the U.S. Navy when the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted several tests of its new “aircraft carrier killer” missiles. However, Beijing may have received a similar, and notably as clear message from Taipei this month after the Taiwanese Navy announced that it has launched the first of its heavily armed “carrier killer” corvettes.
The domestically-produced vessels have been touted as a key component to the independent island nation’s defense efforts against its mainland neighbor. The corvettes, which have earned the nickname “aircraft carrier killers,” are armed with subsonic and supersonic missiles.
2020/12/15 16:24 Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvette. (Lungteh image) Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvette. (Lungteh image) TAIPEI (Taiwan News) Taiwan s Navy on Tuesday (Dec. 15) launched its first heavily armed corvette, nicknamed the aircraft carrier killer (航母殺手) due to its armament of subsonic and supersonic missiles. During a ceremony at Lungteh Shipyard in Yilan s Su-ao Township on Tuesday, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) presided over the launch of Taiwan s first domestically built Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvette. Not to be confused with the Anping-class offshore patrol vessel, the first of which was launched by the Coast Guard Administration on Friday (Dec. 11), the Navy s version is much more heavily armed, as it is designed for combat with Chinese warships.