A US defense contractor yesterday denied local reports that efforts by Taiwan to procure two additional PAC-3 air defense batteries were jeopardized by political bickering and a lack of funds.
The Chinese-language United Daily News on Monday wrote that since the US had agreed to sell two additional Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) systems in January last year, the military had had difficulty raising enough money to complete the deal, as the cost of acquisition allegedly exceeded the military’s budget by as much as 40 percent.
The report cited military sources as saying that the military had lobbied the Pentagon to lower the price for the two batteries on several occasions, but that little progress had been made, adding that the Ministry of National Defense would have to increase its budget for the acquisition and that delivery could be deferred.
Photo: Reuters
US authorities have warned Taipei that if it failed to make any progress by the end of this year, the purchase price could be -invalidated and subsequent orders could be higher, the report said.
The two firing units are part of the US$6.4 billion arms package agreed by the administration of US President Barack Obama in January last year. In addition to fire units, one training unit and 114 PAC-3 missiles were included in the US$2.8 billion deal.
The two batteries are to complete a total of six PAC-3 defense systems sought by Taiwan following notification in October 2008 of four fire units and 330 PAC-3 missiles for US$3.1 billion.
At the heart of the alleged funding shortfall is the three-year boycott by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of the NT$120 billion (US$4.14 billion) budget for the missile defense program in the legislature from 2004 until 2007, the paper said. When the budget was finally released in 2007, Taiwan discovered that the unit cost for the PAC-3 system had gone up substantially. Legislators later claimed that cost overruns, estimated at US$800 million, were added to a draft of the letter of acceptance (LOA) for the 2008 deal, resulting in further delays.
Contacted for comment, an official at Raytheon, the US defense firm that manufactures the Patriot ground systems, said it was their understanding that the purchase of the two fire units was “on track.”
That position was echoed by a US-based source familiar with the situation, who told the Taipei Times last night that the program was in the final stages and on schedule to be signed this fall.
The ministry on Monday denied the reports and said it was proceeding with the purchase.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp, the maker of the “hit-to-kill” PAC-3 missile, are the two principal firms involved in the sale.
Taiwan is scheduled to field the first four PAC-3 batteries by 2014. Raytheon is also in the process of upgrading Taiwan’s three PAC-2 missile batteries, acquired in the 1990s, to PAC-3 configuration.
The ministry was forced to deny similar rumors in May after KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) claimed that budgetary issues could force delays to three major procurement programs — UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters and the PAC-3 batteries.
The government and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday both spoke out against plans by the Chinese government to enact a national security law in Hong Kong. Chinese officials yesterday confirmed that the National People’s Congress would review a bill “on establishing and improving the legal system and enforcement mechanisms for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security.” The Presidential Office said that the announcement was evidence that the “one country, two systems” framework fundamentally clashes with democratic freedoms. The de-escalation of tensions between Hong Kong and Beijing relies on the Chinese government’s willingness to respond to Hong Kongers’ demands,
NPP WARNING: The NPP’s chairman said that a security law proposed by Beijing means it has renounced its promise to maintain ‘one country, two systems’ in HK The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday proposed changing the law to provide protection for those seeking political asylum. China at the opening of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Thursday introduced a draft security law for Hong Kong to ban treason, subversion and sedition, with a review expected next week. TPP caucus whip Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said that the party is concerned about democracy advocates in Hong Kong and has taken action to support them. The party has proposed an amendment to Article 18 of the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), which stipulates that the government can offer
The number of people from Hong Kong applying for residency in Taiwan last year rose 41 percent from a year earlier to 5,858, National Immigration Agency statistics showed. The statistics also showed that 600 applications were filed by Hong Kong residents in the first quarter of this year — three times the number filed in the same period last year — with applicants apparently not deterred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just one day after it was reported that the Chinese government plans to enact new national security laws in Hong Kong, inquiries regarding immigration to Taiwan grew 10-fold, a Hong Kong-based immigration
‘BEGINNING OF THE END’: Democracy advocate Joshua Wong urged Hong Kongers to stand up and fight, and let the Chinese government know that they will not cave Hong Kong protesters yesterday battled with riot police in busy downtown areas, showing their opposition toward China’s dramatic move to crack down on dissent in the biggest demonstration since the coronavirus swept through the territory in January. Police deployed a water cannon and fired tear gas in the Causeway Bay shopping area after hundreds of protesters had gathered to oppose new national security legislation from China. Police warned the crowd they were taking part in an illegal gathering, and later said in a statement that “rioters threw umbrellas, water bottles and other objects at them.” At least 120 people were arrested,
RSS