Around 7,000 Humvees (high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle) were bought by the military shortly after the Gulf War in 1991, but after having been in use for a decade, the well-known vehicle is scheduled to be retired and replaced by a new model in a few years' time.
Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Although the military is still working on the specifications of the new medium-weight transport vehicle, several local car manufacturers have shown a strong interest in bidding for the deal that is expected to be worth billions of NT dollars.
The army is responsible for deciding what specifications the new medium-weight transport vehicles will have, while the combined logistics command is taking care of other details such as preparations for the open bidding on the deal.
The military initially planned to buy replacement vehicles from abroad, but changed tack in accordance with a resolution passed by the legislature two years ago.
This slowed down the process of replacing the Humvee, as the army has had to spend the whole of last year studying the feasibility of buying from local car manufacturers.
The kind of medium transport vehicle that local car manufacturers can produce will be based on design and technology provided by foreign countries, sources said. A local car-making giant is planning to introduce technology from Japan as the basis for its model to compete for the deal.
A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some car manufacturers might erroneously assume that building such a vehicle is a simple matter.
"If they only have the capability to assemble a medium-weight transport vehicle according to foreign designs, they will run into big trouble. What we want is not just the vehicle itself, but also a sound logistics system backing it up," the official said.
"If we buy them from abroad, it will be less of a problem. Foreign companies that we might contact for the purchase are much less likely to be questioned on their ability to maintain post-sale repair and maintenance."
The Humvee's scheduled retirement has in fact been accellerated by a lot of problems surrounding the logistics system for the vehicle.
The military has used the Humvee since 1992. Around 7,000 of the vehicles have been put into service, most of them going to the army. But, for a variety of reasons, it has been unable to establish a working logistics system.
Among the problems are the lack of Chinese-language operation manuals for the vehicles and Chinese-language instructions for the use of the equipment, an army major said. Another is the failure to maintain on a constant basis a computer-controlled system for the detection of mechanical problems, the major added.
"The detection system is usually not used. Our senior officials insist on this practice for fear of damaging the sophisticated equipment," he said.
DIPLOMATIC MOVES: Beijing is reportedly pressing the state after reports of forming links with Taiwan, while the ministry is also planning to reopen its office in Guam soon A representative office is set to open in Somaliland at the end of this month, at the earliest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid reports that Beijing is sending a diplomatic delegation to the east African country. The ministry on July 1 announced that Taiwan and Somaliland would establish representative offices, following a report by the Somaliland Chronicle Web site. It said at the time that the two nations did not plan to establish formal ties. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi has instructed close confidants to explore the possibility of “mutual recognition between Taiwan and Somaliland,” the Somaliland Chronicle reported
‘IMMORAL, INSINCERE’: Huang Kun-huei said that Ma was ‘distorting history’ in claiming that Lee Teng-hui laid the foundation for the so-called ‘1992 consensus’ Former Presidential Office secretary-general Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) on Saturday rejected former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) claim that former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) had been a proponent of Beijing’s “one China” principle. Lee, who served as president from 1988 to 2000, died in Taipei on Thursday last week. After visiting the Taipei Guest House on Saturday to pay his respects to Lee, Ma posted on Facebook that “28 years ago on this day” Lee hosted a session of the now-defunct National Unification Council, during which he passed a resolution on the “one China” principle. That resolution became the basis of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s
NEW ERA: Taiwan, which has controlled its virus outbreak, now faces the challenge of safely resuming economic exchanges with other nations, Chang Shan-chwen said People should not focus entirely on having zero new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, but neglect overall control over the disease situation, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) specialist advisory panel convener Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said yesterday. Chang made the remark at a forum in Taipei discussing the steps Taiwan should take in the post-pandemic era, organized by the Chinese-language magazine Global Views Monthly. Chang, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Chou Jih-haw (周志浩), and Stanford University’s Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention director C. Jason Wang (王智弘) each made a presentation, followed by a panel discussion with Chang, Wang and Buddhist Tzu
A Belgian man who tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan last week is likely to have contracted the disease in Taipei in late June, National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Public Health vice dean Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Saturday reported that the man, who is in his 20s, came to Taiwan for work on May 3 and tested positive on Wednesday last week as he was about to depart. The man in March reported loss of taste and smell, the center said, adding that he worked in Changhua County, but visited Taipei several times,
RSS