Taiwan approaches big step in developing submarines: official

Taiwan will soon complete a design blueprint for a submarine as it strives to build indigenous submarines to replace its aging fleet, a Navy official said Wednesday at an international seminar in Taipei.

“We plan to complete the design by the end of this year,” said an official with the Navy's Division of Planning during a break in the 2014 Sea Lines of Communication Conference at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.

Once the design is completed, “we plan to begin building the submarine in two years,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

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