TAIPEI - The stepped up intensity of Chinese naval patrols near Taiwan since August is putting a "heavy burden" on the island's ageing frigate fleet, which is struggling to maintain combat readiness, the Defence Ministry said Tuesday.
China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, carried out war games near the island in August in response to a Taipei visit by United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It has maintained an increased military presence since then.
While Taiwan is spending billions of dollars on new warships, submarines, missiles and fighter jets, much of the equipment now in service is decades-old, presenting a huge challenge in dealing with China's military activities.
In a report to Parliament seeking budget approval for a new class of frigate, the Defence Ministry said the number of Chinese ships regularly patrolling in waters close to Taiwan has doubled to between four and five a day.
China expanded the area where the ships operate from "time-to-time" patrols in the Taiwan Strait to regularly sending them into the waters off south-west and northern Taiwan, it said.
"The navy must send corresponding forces to monitor every day, and send additional forces to respond depending on the threat level, which is causing a heavy burden on some older ships," the ministry said.
Taiwan's navy has only 26 main combat ships, including six Chi Yang-class frigates that have been in operation for three decades, have old equipment and are increasingly hard to maintain safely.
"At present, they are struggling to maintain proper equipment and perform various combat readiness tasks," the Defence Ministry said.
China's navy is the largest in the world, according to the US Department of Defence, including two aircraft carriers, and overall is expected to grow to 460 ships by 2030.
The Chi Yang-class frigates were built by the United States in the 1970s and commissioned by Taiwan in 1992. The US Navy retired the ships, which it calls the Knox-class, in 1994.
Taiwan's Defence Ministry said it is building a new class of anti-submarine frigates and anti-aircraft frigates, but the earliest the first vessels will be in service is 2025.
It did not say how many such new ships Taiwan is planning to build beyond 2025.
It said the new frigates of about 2,000 tonnes would be similar to their Chinese counterparts in size and more adaptable to react to the regular presence of Chinese ships near Taiwan, which include China's Type 056 corvettes and Type 053H3 frigates. REUTERS
