Taiwan launches the island’s first domestically made submarine for testing

By JOHNSON LAI and HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president has launched the island’s first domestically made submarine for testing. The submarine, if successful in its tests, will be a major breakthrough for Taiwan in shipbuilding and design. President Tsai Ing-wen said a domestically made submarine had seemed impossible in the past. Taiwan began the expensive and time-consuming task of building its own submarines after China prevented it from purchasing such craft from abroad through the use of economic and diplomatic threats. After years of design and construction, the submarine will begin tests in the harbor at Kaohsiung before heading to the ocean.