Republic of China Navy
The Republic of China Navy, colloquially known as the Taiwanese Navy by Western or mainland Chinese media, or commonly referred as the National Military Navy by local Taiwanese people, is the maritime branch of Taiwan's military, the Republic of China Armed Forces.
The service was formerly known as the Chinese Navy, the Central Navy or the Nationalist Chinese Navy before and during World War II, as well as and prior to the ROC's retreat to Taiwan.
Today, the ROC Navy's primary mission is to defend the territorial waters of the Taiwan Area under the jurisdiction of the government of the Republic of China against any possible blockades, attacks, or invasion from the People's Liberation Army of Communist China coming from the mainland. Operations include maritime patrols in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters, as well as readiness for counter-strike and counter-invasion operations during wartime. The Republic of China Marine Corps functions as a branch of the Navy.
The ship prefix, for the Republic of China warships, is ROCS. An older term was the CNS, which was mostly used with the pre-WWII era Nationalist Chinese navy ships.
History
Early years
The Republic of China Navy traces its origins to the Imperial Qing Navy. During the Xinhai Revolution, by late October 1911, nearly the entire Qing fleet had defected to the revolutionary forces. Under the leadership of Admiral Sa Zhenbing, then Minister of the Navy, who deliberately avoided taking military action against the revolutionaries, the Qing fleet effectively aligned itself with the new Republic. This mass defection formed the foundational core of what would become the Republic of China Navy.Later the commander of one of those ships, Huang Chung-ying, became the first Minister of the Navy of the Republic of China, where as Sa Zhenbing had served in several civilian administrative roles in the Beiyang government.
Several naval expansion programs were proposed during the first decade of the republic, but none of them were carried out because of a lack of funding, the outbreak of World War I, and the chaos of the Warlord Era in China. The cruisers that had been acquired by the Qing dynasty between the 1870s and the 1900s remained the main ships of the Chinese fleet through the 1930s. During this time the ROC Navy consisted of three fleets: the Central, Northeast, and Guangdong fleets, and its command structure was divided because of the warlordism in the country. When Sun Yat-sen established his government in 1917 in Guangzhou he was supported by the Navy admirals Cheng Biguang and Lin Baoyi, and when Chiang Kai-shek began his Northern Expedition in 1926 another admiral, Yang Shuzhuang, led part of the Beiyang Fleet to defect to Chiang's forces.
Navy of the Nationalist China
Following the success of the Northern Expedition, the Republic of China Navy formally realigned with the Nationalist Government under Chiang Kai-shek. During this time the Navy was commonly referred as the Central Navy.It is important to note that prior to 1938, the Republic of China Navy operated as an independent national institution, and was not under the authority of the largely KMT controlled Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. This gave the navy a unique administrative status, distinct from the Army, Military Police, Air Force, and Air Defense Troops, all of which were part of the National Revolutionary Army under the Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. Ironically, the Republic of China Navy during that period, is still commonly referred to by mainland Chinese media—particularly pro-communist outlets—as the Navy of the Kuomintang, despite having little direct association with the Kuomintang party itself.
Chiang expressed strong interest in modernizing and expanding the navy, and while some steps were taken—such as acquiring new vessels and reorganizing command structures—these efforts were only partially realized due to limited industrial capacity, financial constraints, and competing military priorities. The most notable examples of these efforts were the acquisition of the two Ninghai-class light cruisers and a number of torpedo boats purchased from the German Reich and the United Kingdom, respectively, reflecting an attempt to build a more capable blue-water force despite the difficult circumstances.
By the late 1930s, the ROCN continued to emphasise to coastal and riverine defense, with a particular emphasis on the Yangtze river, whose navigability allowed ocean-going vessels to penetrate deep into the Chinese interior.
However, when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the ROCN proved vastly outmatched by the Imperial Japanese Navy. Several of its key ships, including cruisers, were either destroyed in air raids or deliberately scuttled by their crews as blockships along the Yangtze.
With most of its combat vessels either destroyed or scuttled during the early naval engagements of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Republic of China Navy suffered a near-total defeat at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Facing a situation where it could no longer effectively operate a fleet, the Ministry of the Navy was dissolved on January 1, 1938, and downgraded to the Navy Command Headquarters under the Military Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government. This marked the end of the navy’s independent administrative status and its integration into the broader military command structure dominated by the National Revolutionary Army.
Chinese Civil War
Following World War II, the Republic of China Navy received a number of former Japanese and American warships as part of postwar realignment and military aid. Most of the Imperial Japanese Navy vessels transferred to China were delivered as part of Japan's war reparations, while the decommissioned U.S. Navy ships were provided primarily through American military assistance programs. These additions temporarily strengthened the ROCN's capabilities during the turbulent years of the Chinese Civil War, in which the navy played a key role in escorting supply convoys and ultimately in the evacuation of the ROC government and over one million refugees to Taiwan in 1949.In parallel with these developments, the Republic of China Marine Corps was reactivated on September 16, 1947, as part of a broader naval reorganisation. After the retreat to Taiwan, the navy underwent extensive restructuring and revival, a process later immortalized in the post-1949 ROC Navy anthem, the New Navy.
After relocation to Taiwan
The island of Taiwan was placed under Japanese rule from 1895, with the Imperial Japanese Navy responsible for defending the waters of Taiwan and Penghu. After World War II, on 25 October 1945, the jurisdiction of Taiwan and Penghu was transferred to the Republic of China and the ROCN began its operation in that territory.Following the relocation of the ROC government to Taiwan, the ROCN was involved in a number of commando attack escorts, evacuation and transport of more displaced soldiers and later to provide patrols and resupply operations to Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea offshore islands.
The Navy Fleet Helicopter Squadron, established on September 1, 1977, marked the official reactivation of naval aviation capabilities for the Republic of China Navy. This milestone ended a nearly-four-decade hiatus in operational naval aviation since the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the original ROC naval air arm had been lost or rendered inactive.
Since the 1990s the Navy has grown in importance as the emphasis of the ROC's military doctrine moves towards countering a possible People's Republic of China blockade, as well as offshore engagement. As of 2004 the ROCN had been working hard to expand its capability in electronic and anti-submarine warfare, as well as the replacement of antiquated warships and support vessels. While for many years the ROCN operated hand me down and foreign designed vessels in recent years they have been operating a higher number of indigenous platforms, sensors, and weapons much of it made by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
In 2018 Lungteh Shipbuilding was awarded a contract to produce eleven Tuo Chiang Block II corvettes and four minelayers for the Taiwanese Navy.
In April 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic the ROCN cut short their semi-annual goodwill mission to Central and South America. The flotilla consisting of two frigates and a supply vessel was subject to 30 days of quarantine after returning to Taiwan.
In April 2020 Taiwanese boatbuilder Karmin International Co., Ltd. won a NT$450-million contract to supply the Republic of China Navy with eighteen special operations watercraft and eight RIB tenders, the latter for the Cheng Kung-class frigates. Delivery was scheduled for June 2022. The contract covered only the watercraft themselves with their machine guns, infrared equipment, and boarding ladders sourced separately.
In December 2025, the ROC Naval Command announced it seeks to purchase 1,500 unmanned surface vessels s, which would be capable of operating up to 44 kilometers off the coast, use "swarm" tactics, and resist electronic warfare. The procurement is part of Taiwan's proposed new military budget for 2026.
Rank and rating insignia
Officer ranks
Other ranks
Equipment
Traditionally, most ROCN equipment has been purchased from the United States. The ships themselves have often been older, second-hand vessels without the newest technology. More recently, in the 1990's several ships have been built domestically under licence or through domestic development. The ROCN has also purchased s from France and s from the Netherlands as well as four U.S. destroyers originally intended for Iran. Despite the ROCN refurbishing and extending the service life of its vessels and equipment, it has suffered from procurement difficulties due to pressures exerted by the PRC.On 12 September 2007, an arms notification was sent to the United States Congress concerning an order for 12 P-3C Orion patrol aircraft and 3 "spare aircraft", along with an order for 144 SM-2 Block IIIA surface-to-air missiles. A contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin to refurbish the 12 P-3C Orion aircraft for the ROC on 13 March 2009, with deliveries to start in 2012.
In 2008, the ROCN set out to acquire an improved anti-ship capability. On 26 August, an arms notification was sent to Congress for an order for 60 air-launched Harpoon Block II missiles for the 12 P-3Cs. At least a portion of these missiles will be installed on the navy's s.
On 29 January 2010, the U.S. government announced five notifications to the U.S. Congress for arms sales to the ROC. In the contracts total US$6.392 billion, ROC Navy would get 2 s for US$105 million, 25 Link 16 terminals on ships for US$340 million, 10 ship- and 2 air-launched Harpoon L/II for US$37 million.
The ROC Navy already has 95 older Harpoon missiles in its inventory for the 8 s, 22 newer RGM-84L for the 4 Kidd-class destroyers, 32 sub-launched Harpoon II on order for the 2 Hai Lung-class submarines, and with 60 air-launched Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile on order for the 12 P-3Cs, plus the newly announced 10 ship-launched and 2 air-launched Harpoon II/L sales.
On 31 August 2010, it was announced for the next year's defense budget, ROCN planned to lease one or two more s from the United States, but the 900-ton stealth corvette plan was put on hold, due to lack of funds. That same year, On 29 September, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution, authorizing the U.S. Government for the sale of one more Osprey-class minehunter to the ROC.
Other ongoing local upgrade programs include locally designed and built Ching Chiang class of 12 patrol ships. Since 2006, seven ships of this class were upgraded to carry four HF-2/3 with W-160 fire control radar from Wu Chin III program. In 2010 more ships of this class were undergoing this same upgrade program but using CSIST produced fire control radars instead.
On 29 December 2010, two LSTs and four remaining of Adjutant-class coastal minehunters were retired.
In 2011, the navy retired several vessels. On 31 October, all eight PCL in the 124th Fleet were retired. On 28 December, the two Lung Jiang-class guided missile patrol boats of the 131st Fleet were retired from ROC Navy service, after entering service in 1978 and 1981 respectively.
In June 2018, two s of the US Navy, ex- and ex-, were handed over to the Government of the Republic of China for the Republic of China Navy. The transfer cost was an estimated US$177 million. The transfer of the ships includes the advanced AN/SQR-19 Multi-Function Towed array sonar. Taiwan had previously been blocked from acquiring the AN/SQR-19, and the transfer of the system points to an anti-submarine focus in line with the Knox-class frigates they will likely replace.
The keel of a new rescue and salvage ship was laid in March 2022.