Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties joined hands yesterday to call on the military not to buy Kidd-class destroyers, suggesting instead the AEGIS-equipped destroyer as the substitute.
The lawmakers, led by ex-navy commander-in-chief retired admiral Nelson Ku (顧崇廉) of the PFP, said the Kidds would be no match for China's new battleships and that only the AEGIS could counter threats from the Chinese navy.
They suggested that the military include the AEGIS-equipped destroyers in the list of priority military hardware to be purchased and deployed over the next 10 years.
The suggestion was jointly made by defense committee members Ku, Chen Chung-hsin (陳忠信) of the DPP and Lin Nan-sheng (林南生) of the KMT.
The lawmakers yesterday called a press conference at the legislature to express their views on the military's purchase plans for the next decade. They spent most of the time explaining why they are against the Kidd purchase.
"Most of the lawmakers of the defense committee think the Kidd is not what the navy wants and that the navy plans to buy the ship mainly because of influence from the US military," Ku said.
"We do not think too much of the Kidd purchase plan. Take the price for instance. Although the four Kidds the navy plans to buy look inexpensive, the whole deal will not be cost-effective in the long run if the follow-up repairs and maintenance are taken into consideration," he said.
"We suggest the Ministry of National Defense (MND) buy the AEGIS-class destroyer instead of the Kidds. We know the MND is making efforts in that direction. We want them to work harder," he said.
"But the AEGIS purchase efforts should not be made at the expense of building plans for three types of new naval vessels displacing 120 tonnes, 500 tonnes, to 1,000 tonnes," he said.
Ku also urged the navy to negotiate with the US over the possibility of having an eighth Chengkung-class frigate, modeled on the US-made Perry-class frigate, built in Taiwan by the state-run China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC).
"The US agreed 10 years ago to provide the technology and equipment for the construction of the eighth Chengkung ship, which would be modified as a smaller-sized AEGIS. Now the navy is ready to revive the construction plan for the eighth Chengkung.
"We hope the MND will try its best to persuade the US to have the ship built in Taiwan," Ku said.
The navy now has seven Chengkung-class frigates in service, which were built by the CSBC. An eighth ship of the class, to be modified as a smaller-size AEGIS destroyer, was initially planned to be built shortly after the completion of the previous seven but the construction plan was cancelled for reasons the navy did not want to reveal.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their