Taiwan plans to build new warships to counter China’s growing pressure

Bloomberg

Taiwan’s navy plans to update its aging fleet of warships, a move intended to counter ramped up military pressure from China.
Taiwan intends to build a new anti-submarine frigate and a similar vessel with anti-aircraft capabilities, officials from the Defense Ministry told lawmakers in Taipei on Wednesday, adding the vessels were expected to be ready by 2025 and 2026.
China has doubled the number of ships that patrol every day “in waters near Taiwan” to four or five since August, when the People’s Liberation Army carried out military drills in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting Taipei, the Defense Ministry said. It has also expanded its patrols in areas southwest and north of Taiwan, it added.
The plans for more naval vessels underscore Taiwan’s efforts to bolster its defenses to guard against any invasion by China, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said in a speech on Monday that would mean ramping up production and procurement of weapons, such as precision missiles and high-performance naval vessels. The island’s navy currently has 26 large combat vessels, although many of them are old.
Taiwan has signaled it is taking the threat of war from Beijing more seriously since Pelosi’s visit prompted the unprecedented Chinese military exercises, which included firing missiles over the island. Beijing has deployed warplanes and military vessels near Taiwan on an almost daily basis since then. Taiwan pledged to treat any PLA incursion into its airspace as a “first strike,” and said it would make an announcement on extending its four-month military conscription requirement by the end of the year.