The nation’s top priority in buying arms from the US is obtaining submarines to bolster its naval defense, while buying more advanced fighter jets is second on the list, according to Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明).
“Our first priority is the purchase of diesel-electric submarines. The second priority is the purchase of a new generation of fighter jets,” Yen told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday as he presented a report on national defense policy.
Discussions are ongoing between senior officials of both sides on the nation’s arms upgrade and procurement requests. US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert confirmed on Sept. 8 that he had a conversation with Taiwanese navy officers regarding the sale or provision of submarines to the nation.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Administrative Deputy Minister of National Defense Kao Tien-chung (高天忠) confirmed that domestic-developed Sky Sword II missiles will be deployed on the navy’s Kang Ting (康定級艦) (Lafayette)-class frigates.
Kao said the missiles recently went through successful sea-to-air live-fire testing aboard the nation’s Chi Yang-class (濟陽級艦) frigates, which are upgraded Knox-class frigates from the US, and they had achieved satisfactory results by hitting their intended targets.
Kao said that the Sky Sword II missiles will soon be tested for deployment on the nation’s six Kang Ting-class frigates, to replace their aging US-made Sea Chaparral missiles, in order to boost the nation’s naval combat strength in its maritime territory.
Made by Taiwan’s Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the radar-guided air-to-air Sky Sword missile system was originally developed in the 1990s as weapons specifically outfitted for Indigenous Defense Fighter jets.
Regarding the transfer of the Sea Chaparral missiles, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) suggested that they be installed for defense against air attacks on the Taiwan-controlled Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島), which is the largest of the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea.
Yen said the suggestion would be taken into consideration.
The military had earlier planned to install Sky Sword I missiles, or Stingers, and portable surface-to-air missiles, which can be mounted on mobile vehicle launchers, to enhance the defensive capabilities of the Taiping Island naval base.
Meanwhile, after a presentation by military officials, the bipartisan legislators on the committee approved the release of a NT$2.147 billion (US$70.4 million) portion of the defense budget that was held up in the previous legislative session.
The frozen budget items, relating to 20 military programs, were presented in specific case reports at the meeting.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS