The head of the domestic submarine programme Admiral Huang Shu-kuang told reporters last week that the goal was to fend off any attempt from China to encircle Taiwan for an invasion or impose a naval blockade. It would also buy time until US and Japan forces arrive to aid Taiwan's defence, he added.

A new Chinese attack submarine is the first submarine in the world to feature an important enhancement to its stealth qualities: an oddly-shaped sail, or conning tower.

China, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory, is believed to have developed a submarine able to escape medium-frequency sonars.

China's Type 039C Yuan-class submarine appears to mark a new era in underwater stealth technology, posing significant challenges to traditional dete

Today, Lai, 64, is the frontrunner in January elections to replace outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen, who belongs to the same Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but is ineligible to stand for a third term.

China's leadership is too "overwhelmed" with its internal problems to consider an invasion of Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said in an interview with the New York Times.

The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office brought spying charges against several active-duty personnel for sharing military intelligence with China through an espionage ring, the semi-official Central News Agency in Taipei reported on Monday.