Taiwan Navy's new assault boats can't dock at Wuchiu, recalled to base

Taiwan's Navy faces an unexpected logistical hurdle in its defense strategy, with newly acquired special operations assault boats unable to be stationed at the strategic Wuchiu outpost. The Navy had planned to use the high-performance M109 assault boats, capable of reaching speeds of 74 km/h, for patrol and defense missions in Wuchiu. However, a recent audit report from the Control Yuan highlighted a critical oversight: the Wuchiu dock construction project did not account for the berthing needs of these specialized vessels.

As a result, the two high-performance assault boats, acquired at a cost of over 44 million New Taiwan dollars, remain inoperable for their intended Wuchiu mission. Instead, the island's defense relies on less capable rubber boats. The Navy stated that due to insufficient space for necessary port facilities at Wuchiu, they have re-evaluated the nearshore defense strategy. The assault boats will now be deployed to the Zuoying defense area to optimize overall combat effectiveness.

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The Wuchiu defense area can only use low-efficiency assault rubber boats to perform its duties.

This situation raises questions about the planning and coordination between different branches of the military and oversight bodies. The audit report specifically noted that the Navy's plan to acquire these boats, costing over 822 million New Taiwan dollars in total, spanned from 2016 to 2022, with deliveries occurring between 2020 and 2022. The failure to integrate the boats' requirements into the dock construction, which was part of the same overall defense upgrade, has left a potential gap in the island's defense readiness.

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After evaluating that the Wuchiu defense area's dock lacks sufficient space to add relevant port facilities, we have re-examined the coastal combat missions of special forces units in the island's key ports under the overall defense concept.