The military is hoping to purchase MQ-8 Fire Scout uncrewed helicopters and MK-62 Quickstrike mines from the US, a senior Ministry of National Defense official said yesterday.
Department of Strategic Planning Director Wu Pao-kun (吳寶琨) said Taiwan is interested in the weapons systems because they fit perfectly into the armed forces ‘plans to enhance asymmetric warfare capabilities and focus on defending against a possible Chinese invasion.
However, the US has not yet agreed to sell the weapons, Wu told lawmakers during a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
“We are still conducting in-depth evaluations,” Wu said.
The MQ-8B Fire Scout, made by Northrop Grumman, is designed to provide reconnaissance and support for aerial fire and precision targeting.
The MK-62 Quickstrike mines are 500lb (227kg) air-dropped sea mines that are programmable, but do not have guidance systems, and are designed to be used against submarines and surface targets.
In related news, the government is to implement a rating system for Taiwanese defense corporations to facilitate defense industry cooperation between Taiwan and the US, a source said on Sunday.
The decision followed talks last week with US representatives at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Annapolis, Maryland.
Taiwanese officials told other conference participants that the government would create a system to rate corporations by capitalization, number of employees, productivity and informational security, said a source familiar with the Annapolis meeting who wished to remain anonymous.
The system would provide US industries with information they need for cooperative programs or ventures, but details of the system still have to be worked out, the source said.
Officials also discussed making arrangements for Taiwan to make broader use of post-letters of agreement offsets — industry compensation arrangements used when purchasing defense-related articles or services, the source said.
Taiwanese representatives at the conference told US officials and businesspeople that the government would push a national defense sector revitalization bill through the legislature, the source said.
The government would work to reconcile the different opinions from lawmakers and industry about the bill, the source said.
US representatives at the meeting praised the technical capability of Taiwanese companies, but said they were more concerned about Taiwanese firms’ ability to protect intellectual property and technology secrets, the source said.
The Americans also said that Taiwan’s cybersecurity sector is promising, but does not meet US standards at present, the source added.
The central government is to assist local defense firms to improve their information security until they meet or exceed US standards so that they could join the US supply chain, the source said.
Defending information from commercial or state-sponsored espionage would be an important goal for Taiwan, the source said.
Taiwan is scheduled to host the Taiwan-US Defense Business Forum in the middle of next year, the source said, but the attendees would skew on the technical and professional side rather than government officials, the source said.
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,
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
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
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