The military this week issued two public notices to invite tenders for the building of new military bases in southern Taiwan to house anti-ship missile squadrons that are to be established after the military receives Harpoon missiles from the US.
According to a tender notice issued on Tuesday by the Naval Fleet Command, tenders have been invited to build new military bases in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung with a NT$1.8 billion (US$57 million) budget.
Yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense published a separate notice for tenders to build a new military base in Tainan with a NT$1.6 billion budget.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Neither the Naval Fleet Command nor the ministry provided more details in the two tender notices, but a source familiar with the issue yesterday said that once completed, the new bases are to house the new anti-ship missile squadrons under the Naval Fleet Command.
The target completion date for these new bases is 2027 in the tender notices.
The unnamed source said that Taiwan’s military expects to establish six new bases for the naval anti-ship missile squadrons in the coming years, one each in Taitung, Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung, and two in Pingtung.
These are considered to be ideal locations for anti-ship missile bases to counter warships off eastern Taiwan, the source added.
However, the navy has never made public how many anti-ship missile squadrons it has.
The new squadrons are expected to be equipped with US-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems Taiwan purchased in 2020, the source added.
In 2020, the US approved the sale of 100 sets of shore-mounted Harpoon missile systems to Taiwan. This package included 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles, four RTM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II exercise missiles, 100 Harpoon launcher transport units, 25 radar trucks and other related equipment.
The military is expected to take delivery of the US-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems before the end of 2028.
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