The navy is expected to get the first AEGIS-class fighting ship from the US in three years time at the earliest, but the ship will not be a new one, defense sources revealed yesterday.
The navy plans to buy a total of four AEGIS ships that are already in service with the US navy. It has chosen to buy second-hand ships to save time and money.
It is estimated that newly built AEGIS ships would be three times more expensive than used ones, and would take three times longer to deploy.
The used ships that the navy is likely to get from the US are early versions of the AEGIS class -- the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers. The first Ticonderoga-class cruiser (CG-47) was commissioned in 1983 and is scheduled to be decommissioned in 2018.
Ships of the class are not as good as later versions of the AEGIS class, but are still very powerful in their own right.
A high-ranking defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it is better not to reveal now what sort of AEGIS ships that the navy will get from the US.
"Taiwan has already reached an agreement with the US about the type of AEGIS ships that it is to buy. The agreement is to be announced sooner or later," the official said.
"Taiwan does not need to buy newly built AEGIS ships since it will cost much more money and take much more time for deployment. Besides, the US navy has the first priority to get new AEGIS ships," he said.
"If we buy used AEGIS ships, we will be able to get the first of these ships in three years at the earliest," he said.
"It is a good to get the AEGIS ships. But we worry that the navy might not be to get itself ready for the operation of the first AEGIS ships within three years," he said.
The defense official declined to confirm if the US' agreement to sell AEGIS ships to Taiwan might have anything to do with local legislators' objections to the navy's plan to buy four Kidd-class destroyers.
PFP Legislator Nelson Ku (
Ku, speaking at a meeting of the Legislature's Defense Committee on Monday, urged the Ministry of National Defense to push the US to sell the AEGIS ships to Taiwan.
"We do not need to wait for 10 years to get the AEGIS ships. If we buy second-hand AEGIS ships, we will be able to get them much sooner," Ku said.
"According to my understanding, the US will sell only used AEGIS ships to Taiwan. If so, what is the meaning of waiting for 10 years for second-hand ships?"
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS