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Article: Taiwan Displays Its Feeble Fleet; As China Threatens, Island Is Eager for U.S. Help, Hardware
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 25, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Taiwan's navy calls it the Sea Leopard, but it looks like the
Beached Whale.
Entering this cramped 56-year-old submarine should be a journey
into the past. There are two similar subs in museums in Philadelphia
and Mount Pleasant, S.C. Unfortunately for Taiwan, however, the Sea
Leopard is very much in the present. With a hull pockmarked by age,
rust eating its sides and an engine and pressurization system that
cannot keep up, the Guppy-class sub, built in Philadelphia in the
closing days of World War II, makes up one-quarter of Taiwan's
submarine fleet.
As China threatens to attack Taiwan if it does not begin
reunification talks soon, a visit to Taiwan's main naval base at
Tsoying, just north ...