TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) is scheduled to preside for the first time over the handover of a new patrol vessel for the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) on Sunday (June 2).

The ceremony comes amid tension with China, which launched large-scale military drills surrounding Taiwan just days after the May 20 inauguration of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Hsiao. Chinese military ships have also repeatedly entered restricted waters near Taiwanese islands.

The 600-ton Yungkang catamaran is the eighth ship of the Anping class to be ready for use by the CGA, the Liberty Times reported Saturday (June 1). The patrol vessels are modified versions of the Tuo Jiang-class corvettes used by the Navy. 

They can reach a speed of 35 knots (65 kph) and can be retrofitted to be armed with Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles.

The handover and naming ceremony in Kaohsiung City Sunday morning is set to be Hsiao’s first since taking office and the first time for a vice president to do the honors. As tradition dictates that a woman should be christening a new ship, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had been in charge of previous ceremonies.