New cutters expand Taiwan’s coast guard
Taiwan’s newest 3,000t coast guard cutter Kaohsiung (CG129) has commenced a secretive first deployment.
Kaohsiung departed its homeport in southern Taiwan on 11 June, just five days after being commissioned. It took Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Minister Wang Chung-yi on a five-day mission that encompassed the monthly Bi-Hai exercise patrolling around the Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island in the Spratly chain.
The 119m-long cutter and its sister ship Yilan (CG128) were built by the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Group from 2011-14. Yilan also commissioned on 6 June.
They are armed with a Bofors 40mm L/70 gun, a T-75S 20mm cannon, several machine guns
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Naval Warfare
-
US weighs offshore warship production due to industrial limits
A Pentagon push to procure warships from Japanese and South Korean shipyards could reshape allied naval industrial strategy, but critics warn the approach risks hollowing out the domestic base Washington is seeking to restore.
-
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.
-
AUKUS advance on UUVs contrasts with Virginia-class compromise
The AUKUS partnership is accelerating uncrewed undersea capability while its submarine arm inches forward, and Australia’s decision to settle for three in-service Virginia-class boats raises questions about industrial risk, dependency and whether Pillar II may deliver meaningful capability long before Pillar I can.
-
Peru partnership may serve as a template for South Korean naval exports into South America
With a growing pipeline of naval modernisation programmes in South America, South Korean companies could be set to expand their presence in the region as recent contract wins highlight growing collaboration.