The Japan Times: "For more than two decades, Taiwan tried to buy a fleet of modern conventional submarines to fend off an existential threat — invasion by [Communist] China. There were no takers. The United States, Taiwan’s main ally, has a nuclear-powered fleet and hadn’t built diesel-powered subs in decades. Other nations balked, fearful of angering Beijing.
"Now, as [Communist] China under President Xi Jinping steps up its military intimidation of Taiwan, an array of foreign submarine-technology vendors, with the approval of their governments, are aiding a secretive program to build subs in Taiwan. Taipei has stealthily sourced technology, components and talent from at least seven nations to help it build an underwater fleet with the potential to exact a heavy toll on any Chinese attack, a Reuters investigation has found. Taipei’s chief foreign weapons supplier, the United States, has provided key technology, including combat-system components and sonar equipment. But assistance is coming from far beyond America. Defense companies from the United Kingdom — which, like America, operates a fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile and attack submarines — have provided crucial support."