TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday presided over the handover and naming of four new ships for the Coast Guard Administration.

The launch formed part of the program started in 2018 to build 141 ships for NT$40 billion (US$1.21 billion). At the ceremony in Kaohsiung, Cho emphasized the government’s responsibility to safeguard freedom of navigation around Taiwan.

He said the Coast Guard's main tasks were protecting fishing rights, rescue operations, combatting drug smuggling, and protecting the nation’s sovereignty, Radio Taiwan International reported. The waters around Taiwan have recently seen third-country-flagged Chinese-owned ships suspected of intentionally damaging international undersea communication cables.

Friday’s ceremony featured the launch of the “Chang Bin” and the naming of the “Su Ao,” the ninth and 10th of a series of 600-tonne-class missile corvettes. In addition, two patrol boats were also handed over to the CGA.

The “Su Ao,” like the others in its domestically designed series, is equipped with high-pressure water cannons and can withstand high wind speeds. The ships are designed to conduct rescue missions, have their crews board fishing vessels for inspections, and repel other ships.