Naval officers who in July last year signed procurement contracts to acquire Raytheon Phalanx close-in weapon systems (CIWS) will be disciplined for reaching a deal before a budget was approved by the Legislative Yuan, a government source said yesterday.
The navy admitted negligence in the matter, which has led to several spending items being suspended and has been condemned by lawmakers from both political camps, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Three officers from Naval Command Headquarters will receive warnings as punishment for signing the contract, the official said.
The naval officers to be disciplined are: retired Naval Command Headquarters chief of staff vice admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹); retired director of combat systems rear admiral Wang Tsung-yu (王宗煜); and Combat Systems Division Captain Wu Ting-kuang (胡庭光).
Mei is currently the director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau and Wang is the deputy chief of the ministry’s Information and Electronic Warfare Command.
Commander of the Navy Admiral Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光) singled himself out for disciplinary action, while President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) gave him a warning — as is appropriate for such actions against an admiral or a general, the official said.
The official said the Phalanx systems used by the navy had reached the end of their service life and the US Navy had stopped providing spare parts.
The official added that the need for new systems had become more pressing because of the administration’s plan to build warships domestically.
A budget of about NT$10.16 billion (US$335 million) had been allocated between fiscal 2017 and 2025 for the procurement of Phalanx systems, which include 13 sets of Mk-15 Phalanx Block-1B, ammunitions, spare parts, technical manuals, software, and training and technical support, sources said.
The US Navy on Jan. 14, 2015, gave a quotation for the weapons at US$320.24 million, announced the itemized list on Dec. 16 of the same year, which included the Mk-15 Phalanx CIWS Block-1B sets, and issued a letter of offer and acceptance on May 20 last year, sources said.
The US told Taiwanese officials that if the navy signed the agreement before July 22, it would be able to purchase the package at a discounted price of US$278.33 million, as its order would be merged with other orders.
Out of financial considerations, the navy, after receiving approval from the Ministry of National Defense, agreed and signed the contract on July 20, the sources said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS