Taiwan has accepted part of an arms deal package offered by the US that includes 13 sets of Phalanx close-in weapons systems (CIWS) and other equipment that will cost NT$9 billion (US$286.6 million), Ministry of National Defense sources said yesterday.
The US in December last year extended a letter of offer and acceptance to Taiwan for an arms package costing about US$1.83 billion.
The package included two decommissioned FFG-7 Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigates, 36 AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles, 13 MK 15 Phalanx Block 1B ship defense CIWS and upgrade kits, ammunition and support, 250 Block I-92F MANPAD Stinger missiles and other equipment.
Screen grab from the Raytheon Co Web site
Taiwan agreed to buy the frigates in March, the AAV-7 vehicles in May and the Phalanx CIWS last month, the source said.
The CIWS is considered standard equipment on all surface combat ships, the source said, adding that the ministry has deployed the systems in mountainous areas to enhance security at missile bases.
Prior to the signing of the offer last month, the navy had only one MK 15 Block 1B CIWS system on one of its Kidd-class destroyers, the source said.
The MK 15 system is more advanced than the Phalanx systems currently in the Taiwanese arsenal, with the addition of visible light/infrared targeting systems and the ability to switch to manual mode, increasing a surface combat ship’s counterstrike abilities, the source said.
Ministry officials said that delivery of the new systems is expected to be a drawn-out process, with the navy not likely to receive the last batch until June 2024.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS