TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's fleet of domestically-produced submarines will be deployed to block the Chinese military from encircling Taiwan and prevent any attempts to sail beyond the First Island Chain, Taiwan’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) said recently.

Huang pointed out that if China successfully implements a blockade of Taiwan, the Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel will become important passages for Chinese aircraft carriers and naval fleets to enter the Philippine Sea, CNA reported. Therefore, the military must have an adequate number of submarines and surface vessels to guard the key passages to prevent China from bypassing Taiwan's southeastern or eastern waters, he said.

He said that submarines from Taiwan, the U.S., and other countries operate in the waters around Taiwan. In the event of a defense operation in northern Taiwan waters, its proximity to Japan’s southwestern islands would justify a First Island Chain joint defense, Huang said.

This plan would involve Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, which would be responsible for defending the Miyako Strait. Chinese naval fleets would be unable to sail through Taiwan’s northern waters.

This strategy aims to prevent China from entering the greater Pacific and engaging in Anti-Access/Area Denial operations against U.S. forces, the chief of staff said.

Taiwan's first submarine prototype, which will be christened the Hai Kun, is scheduled to be launched on Thursday (Sept. 28) at CSBC Corporation’s Kaohsiung shipyard. Huang said three domestically produced submarines are expected by 2025.