Although the Republic of China Navy, on the island of Taiwan, is one of the most endowed in the Pacific theater, with 4 destroyers and 22 frigates, all of its ships are between 25 and almost 50 years old, due to the “de facto” embargo imposed from the mid-90s by Beijing on the sale of arms to the independent island since 1949, but still ardently claimed as national territory by the authorities of the People's Republic of China. Not only did none of the traditional suppliers to the Taiwanese armies, such as France or the United States, agree to sell new combat ships to Taipei, for fear of being excluded from lucrative economic partnership contracts with Beijing, but they did not 'did not agree to modernize existing ships either, at least until a few months ago.
In fact, the Taiwanese fleet had to evolve at the rate of progress of its own industrial and technological base, certainly efficient, but very isolated on the international scene, causing it to lose, little by little, its dissuasive role in keeping the Beijing fleet at bay. respectable. At the same time, the latter demonstrated an extraordinary industrial and technological dynamism not seen on the planet since that of the American shipyards during the Second World War, by reaching a production capacity far exceeding that of the United States and its allies in the Pacific.
There are 75% of this article left to read, Subscribe to access it!
The Classic subscriptions provide access to
articles in their full version, and without advertising,
from €1,99. Subscriptions Premium also allow access to archives (articles over two years old)
