US-based AMS Group, a provider of technology, equipment and integrated logistics support services, is to open an office in Taipei by the end of this year, senior vice president of global aftermarket Michael Perry said on Monday.
Perry made the remark at an event after a panel discussion on Taiwan-US defense industry cooperation held by the Global Taiwan Institute in Washington.
AMS’ board of directors earlier that day approved opening an office in Taiwan following communications from Taipei that it welcomes the defense contractor’s services, he said.
The firm would be able to provide spare parts and components for Taiwan’s older weapons systems, Perry added.
The timetable for establishing the office would be determined by business opportunities, he said, adding that the group is cognizant that other US defense contractors are interested in Taiwan’s business.
While Taiwan’s domestic defense industry could meet half of its military equipment needs, international support would still be needed for advanced equipment, such as stealth jets, submarines and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, institute senior research fellow David An (安大維) said in a report to the panel.
The nation’s defense sector has annual revenue of US$2.3 billion, or 23 percent of the defense budget, but it is heavily concentrated among a few large, government-backed companies, he said.
Taiwan should increase the competitiveness of its defense sector as it moves to enhance and upgrade its self-defense capabilities, US-Taiwan Business Council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers said.
The systems integration of Taiwan’s indigenous submarine program would benefit from foreign technical assistance, he said.
If the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology fails to integrate the submarine’s systems, the political fallout might cause unacceptable setbacks to the program, he added.
While Taiwan still has the time to develop its own submarines, Taipei and Washington need to pick up the pace of cooperation, Hammond-Chambers said, adding that the two governments also have to prepare for China’s inevitable — and loud — complaints.
The Taiwanese and US defense industries should strengthen their cooperation and integrate Taiwan as part of the global supply chain, he said, adding that US President Donald Trump should take stronger and more assertive actions in support of Taiwan.
As Taiwan lacks the technology to integrate the sophisticated systems and components of advanced submarines and fighter jets, US technical assistance would be beneficial to the nation’s weapons programs, Taiwan Security Analysis Center director Mei Fu-shing (梅復興) said.
Two US firms specializing in systems integration have expressed an interest in working with Taiwan’s submarine program following the US Department of State’s approval last month of marketing licenses for related technologies, he said.
Although the US encourages Taiwan to develop asymmetric warfare capabilities, they are mainly useful for countering a Chinese invasion, not dealing with saber-rattling from Chinese military drills, Mei said.
These actions by Beijing demonstrate that Taiwan needs to obtain the most advanced fighter aircraft, Mei added.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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