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?"
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern