Naval officers who in July last year signed procurement contracts to acquire Raytheon Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS) will be disciplined for reaching a deal before a budget was approved by the Legislative Yuan, a government source said yesterday.
The navy admitted negligence in the matter, which has led to several spending items being suspended and has been condemned by lawmakers from both political camps, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Three officers from Naval Command Headquarters will receive warnings as punishment for signing the contract, the official said.
The naval officers to be disciplined are: retired Naval Command Headquarters chief of staff vice admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹); retired director of combat systems rear admiral Wang Tsung-yu (王宗煜); and Combat Systems Division Captain Wu Ting-kuang (胡庭光).
Mei is currently the director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau and Wang is the deputy chief of the ministry’s Information and Electronic Warfare Command.
Commander of the Navy Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) singled himself out for disciplinary action, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) gave him a warning — as is appropriate for such actions against an admiral or a general, the official said.
The official said the Phalanx systems used by the navy had reached the end of their service life and the US Navy had stopped providing spare parts.
The official added that the need for new systems had become more pressing because of the administration’s plan to build warships domestically.
A budget of about NT$10.16 billion (US$335 million) had been allocated between fiscal 2017 and 2025 for the procurement of Phalanx systems, which include 13 sets of Mk-15 Phalanx Block-1B, ammunitions, spare parts, technical manuals, software, and training and technical support, sources said.
The US Navy on Jan. 14, 2015, gave a quotation for the weapons at US$320.24 million, announced the itemized list on Dec. 16 of the same year, which included the Mk-15 Phalanx CIWS Block-1B sets, and issued a letter of offer and acceptance on May 20 last year, sources said.
The US told Taiwanese officials that if the navy signed the agreement before July 22, it would be able to purchase the package at a discounted price of US$278.33 million, as its order would be merged with other orders.
Out of financial considerations, the navy, after receiving approval from the Ministry of National Defense, agreed and signed the contract on July 20, the sources said.
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence. Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions from PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo,” he said at the press briefing. The US urges China to “engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, adding that “threats and legal
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday. The number of typhoons is slightly lower than the average of three to five, reflecting a weakening El Nino weather pattern and the possibility of a La Nina pattern approaching, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei. While typically fewer typhoons develop under such conditions, their routes would be more likely to pass near