Taiwan completes first undersea trial for domestically made submarine

Taiwan completed the maiden underwater sea trial for its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday, reports Reuters.

A big milestone in a project aimed at strengthening deterrence against the Chinese navy and protecting vital sea lanes in the event of war.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine programme a key part of an ambitious project to modernise its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty claims.

The submarine programme has drawn on expertise and technology from several countries, including the United States and Britain, a breakthrough for diplomatically isolated Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's territorial claims.