Public prosecutors have detained dozens of military officials and civilian defense contractors for questioning as part of a massive operation yesterday investigating military corruption in which contractors allegedly provided cheap, inferior components from China that were used to produce CM-32 “Clouded Leopard” armored vehicles.
The operation involved raids that resulted in about 60 people being detained, along with the seizure of documents and other evidence at 37 locations across the nation, including the Ministry of National Defense’s Procurement Office, the Ordnance Readiness Development Center in Nantou County and the ministry’s Armaments Bureau 209th Arsenal, which has its facilities at the ordinance center.
Military officials and supervisors of the ministry’s procurement program allegedly colluded with unqualified contractors over a NT$7.6 billion (US$243.9 million) tender package in 2012 to provide chassis and power equipment for the CM-32 vehicles, which were developed by the ordinance center, the military’s main production and maintenance facility for tanks and armored personnel carriers.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The scandal has been reported as a breach of national security and unauthorized disclosure of classified military material, as contractors allegedly employed Chinese workers and had Chinese subcontractors producing parts in the project’s supply chain.
Top executives, managers and accountants of contractors were summoned for questioning by prosecutors, including from Chung Hsin Electric and Machinery Manufacturing Corp (CHEM, 中興電工), Yi Rong Technology Co (億嶸科技), Wei Shuan Co (崴軒) and Chi Fu Industry (啟福工業).
CHEM was contracted for the project after a bid NT$4.8 billion, but the company did not manufacture parts and equipment. CHEM subcontracted the manufacturing portion of the project to Yi Rong Technology, Wei Shuan and Chi Fu Industry.
However, prosecutors said the three subcontractors do not have the certification required in the contract.
The contract specified that all manufacturing had to be done domestically by Taiwanese, prohibiting the contractor and its partner companies from employing Chinese workers or workers from other foreign nations, while no materials and parts from China or other foreign countries were to be used, prosecutors said.
Contractors breached the terms of the deal, prosecutors said.
The deals had undermined national security, while there remains suspicion that military officials received kickbacks and other inducements, prosecutors added.
The investigation is focused on whether military officials were “bought off” during the tender procurement process or during the final acceptance and check phase, prosecutors said.
Equipment and parts for the project were delivered in 2012 for assembly and testing at the 209th Arsenal.
The CM-32 vehicles were reported to have numerous problems, including a high rate of defective parts, leading to a judicial probe, which began about a year ago.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he