Republic of China Navy

Admiral Liu Chih-pin, the current Commanding-General.

Vice Admiral Hu Zhan-Hao, and Tang Hua, the two current Deputy Commanding-General.

The Navy CHQs (中華民國國防部海軍司令部) is subordinate to the General Staff, the Minister of Defense, and the ROC President.

• Internal units: Personnel, Combat Readiness & Training, Logistics, Planning, Combat Systems, General Affairs, Comptroller, Inspector General, Political Warfare.
• Naval Fleets Command (艦隊指揮部)

• 124th Fleet: Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
• 131st Fleet: Keelung City, Taiwan
• 146th Fleet: Magong City, Penghu County, Taiwan
• Amphibious Fleet (151st Fleet), Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
• 168th Fleet: Suao, Yilan County, Taiwan
• 192nd Fleet (Navy Minesweeper Fleet): Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
• 256th Submarine Squadron: Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City
• 261st Squadron
• Hai Chiao(Sea Dragon) PGMG Guided Missile Boat/Craft Group (海蛟大隊)

1st Hai Chiao Guided Missile Boat/Craft Squadron of 10 Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat at Suao naval base

2nd Hai Chiao Guided Missile Boat/Craft Squadron of 10 Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat

3rd Hai Chiao Guided Missile Boat/Craft Squadron of 10 Hai Ou-class missile boat (Dvora class)

4th Hai Chiao Guided Missile Boat/Craft Squadron of 10 Hai Ou-class missile boat (Dvora class)

5th Hai Chiao Guided Missile Boat/Craft Squadron of 11 Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat[4][5]

• Hai Feng Shore Based Anti-ship Missile Group (海鋒大隊), operates 6 batteries of fixed/mobile HF-2 anti-ship missiles.

• 7th Hai Feng Shore Based Anti-ship Missile Squadron (海鋒大隊第七中隊), Haulien, Eastern Taiwan.[6][7][8]

• Aviation Command (operates from Pingtung, Tsoying, and Hualien AB)

• Naval Aviation, at Pingtung, will receive 12 P-3C 2013/2014.
• 1st ASW Aviation Group

• 133rd Squadron: S-2T, at Pingtung.
• 134th Squadron: S-2T, at Pingtung.

• 2nd ASW Aviation Group

• 701st Helicopter Squadron (Light), S-70C(M)-1, at Hualien.
• 702nd Helicopter Squadron (Light), S-70C(M)-2, at Tsoying.
• 501st Helicopter Squadron (Light), 500MD ASW, at Tsoying.

• Maintenance Group

• 1st Maintenance Squadron (Pingtung)
• 2nd Maintenance Squadron (Tsoying)
• 3rd Maintenance Squadron (Hualien)

• Marine Corps Command (陸戰隊指揮部)
• Education, Training and Doctrine Command (教育訓練暨準則發展司令部)
• Logistics Command (後勤司令部)
• Naval Academy, Hydrographic & Oceanographic Bureau, Shipbuilding Development Center, Communication Systems, General Service.

Sources:[9][10]

The precursor to the modern ROC Navy was established as the Ministry of the Navy in the Provisional Government of the Republic of China in 1911 following the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. Liu Guanxiong, a former Qing dynasty admiral, became the first Minister of Navy of the Republic of China. During the period of warlordism that scared China in the 1920s and 1930s the ROCN remained loyal to the Kuomintang government of Sun Yat-sen instead of the warlord government in Beijing which fell to the nationalist government in the 1928 northern campaign and between the civil war with the Communist Party and 1937 Japanese invasion of Northeast China. During that time and throughout World War II, the ROCN concentrated mainly on riverine warfare as the poorly equipped ROCN was not a match to Imperial Japanese Navy over ocean or coast.[11]

Following World War II, a number of Japanese destroyers and decommissioned U.S. ships were transferred to the ROC Navy. During the Chinese Civil War, the ROCN was involved in the protection of supply convoys and the withdrawal of the ROC Government and over 1 million refugees to Taiwan in 1949. The subsequent reorganization and reestablishment of the Navy after evacuation to Taiwan is referenced in the lyrics of the post 1949 ROC Navy Song "The New Navy" (新海軍).

In 1895, the island of Taiwan was placed under Japanese rule, with the Imperial Japanese Navy responsible for defending the waters of Taiwan and Penghu. After World War II, on 25 October 1945, the jurisdiction of Taiwan and Penghu was transferred to the Republic of China and the ROCN began its operation in that territory.

Following the relocation of the ROC government to Taiwan, the ROCN was involved in a number of commando attack escorts, evacuation and transport of more displaced soldiers and later to provide patrols and resupply operations to Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea offshore islands.

Since the 1990s the Navy has grown in importance as the emphasis of the ROC's military doctrine moves towards countering a possible People's Republic of China (PRC) blockade, as well as offshore engagement. As of 2004 the ROCN had been working hard to expand its capability in electronic and anti-submarine warfare, as well as the replacement of antiquated warships and support vessels.[9] While for many years the ROCN operated hand me down and foreign designed vessels in recent years they have been operating a higher number of indigenous platforms, sensors, and weapons much of it made by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.[12]

President of Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen reviews a Marine Corps battalion in 2020

In 2018 Lungteh Shipbuilding was awarded a contract to produce eleven Tuo Chiang Block II corvettes and four minelayers for the Taiwanese Navy.[13]

In April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic the ROCN cut short their semi-annual goodwill mission to Central and South America. The flotilla consisting of two frigates and a supply vessel was subject to 30 days of quarantine after returning to Taiwan.[14]

In April 2020 Taiwanese boatbuilder Karmin International Co., Ltd. won a NT$450-million (US$14.9-million) contract to supply the Republic of China Navy with eighteen special operations watercraft and eight RIB tenders, the later for the Cheng Kung-class frigates. Delivery is scheduled for June 2022. The contract covered only the watercraft themselves with their machine guns, infrared equipment, and boarding ladders sourced separately.[15]

LPD-1401 Yushan

In September 2018, Taiwan confirms contract for first amphibious assault ship built in Taiwan. It will be built by CSBC Corporation, a local shipyard. Four are planned with the first to be entering service around 2021. It is roughly similar to US Navy's San Antonio-class, but with a slightly smaller displacement. Support features include a full hospital, well deck, full aviation facilities, storage for wheeled vehicles, and dedicated accommodations for a full battalion of Marines.[31] The vessel design will be armed with a 76 mm naval gun in the primary position, a close-in weapon system (CIWS) turret, two 12.7 mm machine gun positions in the forward section, and launchers that can deploy the Hsiung Feng II and III family of anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.[32][33][34] The primary sensor is expected to be a naval version of the indigenous CS/MPQ-90 Bee Eye AESA radar.[35]

The ROC Navy currently lacks a modern fleet defense system. Keelung class destroyers currently use obsolete Mark 26 missile launchers designed from the 1970s and does not currently have a modern centralized air defense combat system like the Aegis.[36][37] Past US administrations rejected the sale of Aegis radar system and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including George W. Bush in 2001. Under the George W. Bush administration, the US instead sold Taiwan four Kidd-class destroyers, which did not carry the Aegis and were no longer in service in the US Navy at the time.[38][39][40] However, in January 2019, the US government delivered two sets of Mk 41 VLS to Taiwan. The ROC government plans to integrate the MK41 VLS and locally developed Tien-Kung III (Sky Bow III) with its indigenously developed Hsun Lien naval combat system, which is similar to Aegis, to upgrade its ship air defense capabilities.[41][42] Taiwan has acquired the license and technology to produce additional MK 41 VLS launchers. The ROC Navy currently as of 2019 possesses at least 14 warships compatible with the Mk41.[43] In November 2019 it was reported that the decommissioned amphibious landing ship Kao Hsiung (LCC-1) was being used as a test ship for the Hsun Lien naval combat system project and had been fitted with a large phased array radar system and the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System.[44] In January 2020, it is reported the Tien-Kung III (Sky Bow III) is successfully fired from the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System.[45][46]

In November 2020, President Tsai Ing-wen opened the submarine construction facility in Kaohsiung with plans to build eight submarines. Construction was to begin with a prototype boat which was to be built over 78 months. The first boat is scheduled to enter service in 2025.[47][48] Between December 2020 and February 2021, the United States reportedly approved the export of three key systems to Taiwan for the program: digital sonar systems, integrated combat systems and auxiliary equipment systems (periscopes).[49]

In 2023, Taiwan revealed its first domestically designed and built submarine, the Hai Kun.[50]

• 
  Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III launchers of Tian Dan (PFG2-1110)
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  Sea Oryx missile launcher display at MND Hall
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  Covered ROCN Hsiung Feng II & Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile launchers truck displayed at Zuoying Naval Base
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  ROCN Hsiung Feng II & Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile launchers truck
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  Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile launched from a missile launchers truck
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  ROCN Hughes 500 "6910" carried on Lan Yang (FFG-935) helicopter deck from rear right view
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  ROCN S-70C(M) "2307" flying over Zuoying Naval Base in the morning
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  Mark 32 torpedo tubes mounted on ROCN Tzu I (PFG-1107)
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  No.1 Wan Xiang CAPTOR mine displayed aboard ROCN Ho Zhong (LCU-484)
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  No.2 Wan Xiang Bottom mine displayed aboard ROCN Ho Zhong (LCU-484)
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  Sea Chaparral launcher mounted on ROCN Si Ning (PFG-1203)
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  T-75S 20mm Cannon mounted on ROCS FACG-77
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  Phalanx CIWS and Bofors 40 mm L/70 gun aboard on ROCN Di Hua (PFG-1206)
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  M96 motorboat
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  The President of Taiwan aboard the Pan Shi
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  OTO Melara 76mm Gun aboard the frigate ROCN Si Ning (PFG-1203)
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  ROCN S-70C(M) "2312"
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  Visitors in front of ROCN Kao Hsiung (LCC-1)
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  TC-2N