The first batch of M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US is expected to arrive in Taiwan in the middle of this month, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
According to the plans, military personnel sent to the US to receive training on operating the tanks all returned to Taiwan by the end of last month, and the army is set to start training with the tanks after the Lunar New Year holiday in February next year, the source said.
The army currently has about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger tanks and M60A3 Patton battle tanks, but they have been operational for more than 20 years, so aside from purchasing new engines for the M60A3 tanks, the army purchased M1A2T Abrams tanks, which some say is “the most powerful tank on Earth.”
Photo: Reuters
The army allocated a budget of NT$40.525 billion (US$1.24 billion) between 2019 and 2027 to purchase 108 M1A2T tanks, which are expected to be garrisoned in the 6th Army Command to defend northern regions of the nation.
The source said the M1A2T tanks would arrive in Taiwan in the middle of this month, but they could not disclose further details.
Seed instructors who were sent to the US to train with the tanks are expected to start training tank crews after the Lunar New Year holiday in early February next year, a member of the military said.
The M1A2T tank is equipped with a 120mm smoothbore gun that can penetrate 850mm of homogeneous steel, and its composite armor protects against 850mm armor-piercing rounds, withstanding shells fired from most enemy battle tanks.
It is also equipped with a C4ISR system, which elevates combat efficiency, and it runs on a AGT1500 gas turbine engine, which generates 1,500 horsepower and has a top speed of about 67kph.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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