Note Wikipedia's belief that Taiwan's Hai Kun submarines are being "assembled using Japanese construction techniques in Taiwan. A Japanese team consisting of retired engineers from Mitsubishi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries is believed to have provided technical support." see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hai_Kun-class_submarine#Design
Within this Japanese help argument my theory is more specifically that Taiwan's Hai Kun "1" is more based on Japan's Oyashio-class submarines than based on any other Japanese or foreign subs.
Arguments include:
- the similarity of Oyashios and the Hai Kun (see below)
- both Oyashios and Hai Kuns don't have AIP, and
- while Japan (or any other nation) would use recent technology they would not transfer their latest technology for a Taiwanese submarine. One reason being Taiwanese ports and therefore shipbuilding are highly penetrated by PRC agents.
See David Axe's Forbes article "To Conquer Taiwan, China Needs Taiwan’s Ports. It Already Has Assets On The Inside." of July 28, 2021 at https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/07/28/to-conquer-taiwan-china-needs-taiwans-ports-the-takeover-has-already-begun/?sh=5b913e8b633c
which states in part: "Corporate acquisitions in recent years have put CCP loyalists in charge of some of Taiwan’s most important port architecture. In a crisis, these loyalists could supply Chinese invaders with vital intelligence, thus reducing the risk to the assault force."
“Over the past two decades, the CCP has established representative offices in Taiwan’s major ports, invested in Taiwanese port building projects and gained direct access to at least some of Taiwan’s basic port infrastructure,” Ian Easton, an analyst with the Project 2049 Institute in Virginia, explained in a new study. [at https://project2049.net/2021/07/22/hostile-harbors-taiwans-ports-and-pla-invasion-plans/ ]"
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Taiwan's Hai Kun "1" (Photo courtesy Mer et Marine)
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