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.
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