‘Hai Kun’ submarine issues ‘cosmetic,’ contractor saysStaff writer, with CNACSBC Corp, Taiwan, the main contractor for Taiwan’s first indigenous submarine, has pledged to promptly address issues in the vessel’s interior raised by an opposition lawmaker on Friday, but said that it did not expect ongoing tests to be affected. In a statement later on Friday, CSBC categorized the issues raised by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) as “cosmetic issues” and said they could be immediately rectified. Ma raised questions on social media about the submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, citing photos and footage of President William Lai’s (賴清德) visit onboard the docked vessel on Thursday released by the Presidential Office. The indigenous submarine Hai Kun undergoes tests in Kaohsiung on Feb. 6. Former indigenous submarine program convener Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) said in September 2023, when the submarine prototype was unveiled, that the submarine could be delivered to the navy before the end of 2024, but that did not happen.

Source: Taipei Times March 21, 2026 17:14 UTC