TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's first domestically-made submarine is scheduled to undergo harbor testing next month with delivery to the Navy slated for next year.

In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), chief of the general staff and convener of the Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) program, called on the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines to establish a joint reporting mechanism with Taiwan to counter China's rising military menace. Huang also revealed that the first Taiwan-made submarine is expected to begin harbor acceptance testing on Oct. 1 and will be delivered to the Navy in 2024.

Huang said that Taiwan is focusing on the defense of two strategic locations, namely the northeastern waters off of Taiwan and the Bashi Channel. He predicted that if China launched a major attack, Beijing would likely rely on Russia to send its navy to the East China Sea to fend off Japan and the U.S.

"They will want to isolate Taiwan and finish off the invasion as soon as possible," warned Huang. He added that "Taiwan can't be surrounded by China from all sides. Otherwise, we'll be doomed."

The admiral indicated that this is why the country's domestically built submarines will be key to hampering China's plans to encircle Taiwan. He said that testing on the first indigenous submarine will commence in September and if Taiwan can expand this to a fleet of submarines, it will be able to deter China's navy from entering the two key waterways, thereby preventing any attempt to blockade Taiwan.

Regarding the timeline for the first prototype submarine, Huang said it will be tested on Sept. 28. This will be followed by harbor acceptance tests that start on Oct. 1 and should end on April 1, 2024.

Huang said the next stage will be sea acceptance tests, but said there is no fixed timeline for this phase as it is Taiwan's first locally-produced submarine. Regarding delivery to the Navy, Huang said "we hope to hand it over to the Navy within next year."

The admiral said that the diesel-electric submarine will be armed with MK-48 torpedoes and that seven more will be built in the future, adding to the existing two, for a total fleet of 10 submarines. Even if Chinese warships reach the waters off the eastern coast of Taiwan, Huang said this fleet can disrupt the Chinese navy's supply lines.

By preventing China from encircling Taiwan or maintaining a siege posture, it will effectively prevent China from approaching the "first island chain." Huang pointed out that in such a scenario, Japan, the U.S., and friendly nations will have more operational space to support Taiwan.

"The longer an attack drags on, the worse it would be for China, because the world, including Japan, will more likely intervene," added the admiral.