US to build Taiwan subs

The US plans to build eight diesel-electric submarines for Taiwan as part of an $18 billion arms package, a decision likely to irritate China, which has opposed the sale of weapons to Taipei.

This decision ends years of speculation about who would build the submarines. Although the USA no longer builds diesel submarines, Taiwan was not willing to take the risk of angering China. The most likely yard is Ingalls in Pascagoula and the shipbuilder will have to start from scratch and purchase the blueprints abroad.