Taiwan Tests Out Conversion of Coast Guard Cutters for Antiship Role

Servicemembers load antiship missiles aboard an Anping-class patrol vessel (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense file image) — Servicemembers load HF-2 / HF-3 antiship missiles aboard an Anping-class patrol vessel (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense file image)

Last week, Taiwan's coast guard demonstrated its ability to use its coastal patrol vessels to launch locally-built antiship missiles, adding additional heft to its defensive capabilities.

In a trial on Friday, the Taiwan Coast Guard patrol vessel Qijin test-launched a Hsiung Feng III supersonic missile at a decommissioned Taiwan Navy frigate in a sinking exercise. The missile traveled about 50 nautical miles - more than half the width of the Taiwan Strait - before striking its target. A coast guard unit followed up with the launch of a subsonic HF-2 antiship missile.

The Qijin is one of 12 ships (10 active) in the high-speed catamaran Anping-class, and several sister ships have also test-launched antiship missiles. They are capable of carrying up to 16 box launchers for the purpose and can be readily converted in wartime. Taiwan's Navy has only several dozen vessels capable of launching antiship missiles, and an additional 12 hulls with 16 launchers each would be a meaningful addition.

Taiwan Ministry of National Defense / CNA file image

Few other coast guards have taken on a high-end antiship guided missile role, though a military role in time of war is common practice. The U.S. Coast Guard briefly carried the Harpoon antiship missile on some of its largest cutters in the 1980s, but has long since given it up. In time of war, the U.S. Coast Guard has historically been integrated into the U.S. Navy's command structure and assigned to combat missions, like convoy escort and antisubmarine warfare; it is formally a military service and the legal structure for transferring its control to the Navy remains in place.

The China Coast Guard operates the world's largest fleet of seagoing cutters - some larger than the largest U.S. Navy destroyers and cruisers - and many are believed to be warships-in-waiting, ready for conversion into surface combatants in time of conflict. It operates under China's military command structure and carries out paramilitary missions in the waters of neighboring states, though it is nominally a "white-hull" law enforcement agency.