President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over the launch of the nation’s first domestically made submarine, called Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, or at a ceremony in Kaohsiung, calling the event a crucial moment in Taiwan’s mission to produce domestic subs and achieve “defense autonomy.”

The ceremony was held at a CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) shipyard, the contractor for the nation’s Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) project.

“Today will go down in history,” Tsai said in her remarks.