TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's first domestically-built submarine is running late — and that might be exactly what the island needs. The Hai Kun (海鯤號) completed its sixth dive test Thursday (March 12) as shipbuilder CSBC Corp., Taiwan (台船) could accumulate an estimated NT$38 million (US$1.19 million) in late penalties. But military experts say the accelerated testing pace — not the mounting fines — is the real story.
The submarine departed Kaohsiung port around 8 a.m. for its 12th overall sea trial. Military enthusiasts gathered at the harbor to wave homemade flags bearing "TAIWAN" as children pressed against fences, shouting "I see it, Hai Kun is coming out!" — a scene reflecting the public investment in Taiwan's most ambitious defense project.
Military expert Chi Tung-yun (紀東昀) told reporters the testing rhythm has been "deliberately accelerated," pushing the submarine through multiple conditions to verify stability. Tuesday's fifth dive test ran from before 8:30 a.m. until approximately 6:40 p.m., he noted, indicating all objectives were met. Chi said calibration time between tests has "shortened significantly," and the Hai Kun could soon attempt 100-meter dives and overnight endurance tests.
The shipbuilder acknowledges the pressure but refuses to cut corners. CSBC Chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) emphasized that "safety and quality must come first," describing the successful dive as "a qualitative transformation, like zero becoming one." The milestone confirms the pressure hull and watertight systems meet requirements — a critical validation for Taiwan's first indigenous submarine.
The testing operates under strict security protocols following U.S. military acceptance standards. A naval cordon including destroyers, frigates, and rescue ships maintains a temporary exercise zone around the Hai Kun during trials. The precautions aim to prevent adversaries — particularly China — from deploying sensors to record the submarine's acoustic signature, one of the most closely guarded secrets in undersea warfare.
Video released by CSBC on Feb. 8 showed the Hai Kun performing steering control tests, opening vent valves for descent, raising and lowering periscopes and antenna masts, launching self-defense decoys and safely surfacing. The decoys, domestically developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (中科院) after procurement from Turkey fell through, emit sounds mimicking the submarine to confuse incoming torpedo sonar systems.
The penalty meter continues to tick — NT$190,000 today, another NT$190,000 tomorrow. But for Taiwan, the more pressing question may not be whether it can afford these fines. It's whether it can afford to stop incurring them before the Hai Kun is ready. ◼
