Staff involved in construction of the IDS are privy to highly classified information and face traveling restrictions due to security reasons

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/10/28
By: Sally Jensen, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Personnel working on the Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) have had to sign a "Defense Manufacturer Security Management" confidentiality agreement that forbids them from entering China or transiting through Hong Kong and Macau, according to Up Media.

The IDS has been described by Taiwan’s Navy as of the "utmost importance.” The National Institute of Science and Technology is involved in the development and integration of up to 12 kinds of combat system equipment within the vessel.

Weighing over 2,500 tons and 70 meters in length, construction of the submarine is mostly managed by Taiwan’s Shipbuilding Corporation (CSBC). All personnel involved in the construction and design of the submarine are now forbidden from passing through Hong Kong and Macau.

The customs computer system in Hong Kong and Macau has a direct notifying mechanism that connects to China’s national security apparatus. There is a risk that any Taiwanese on China’s national security watch list could be targeted and detained at a Hong Kong or Macau airport.
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