The Ministry of National Defense has suggested renting Suao's civil port to temporarily house the first of the four Kidd-class destroyers that have been bought from the US.
Ministry spokesman Rear Admiral Liu Chih-chien (
"The 9,600-tonne Kidd destroyers are too big for the current naval ports, so the navy is deepening the harbor at the Kaohsiung navy base," he said.
He said the navy is proposing to build new naval docks for the other three Kidd-class destroyers at Keelung and Penghu.
Liao Wen-chung (
The first of the ships is due to be delivered and commissioned into service before the end of this year.
"It's ridiculous that the new fleet has cost us a lot but no proper naval facilities have been found to base them," Liao said.
He said the military has long wanted eight diesel submarines, but has yet to come up with a proposal to build new sub bases. It would take about 10 years to build submarine facilities, he said.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Nelson Ku (顧崇廉), a former chief of the navy, said a submarine force would require the construction of several submarine bases, a land-based 4CISR system and other port support services.
He said to show the navy's strong determination to build an advanced submarine force, it should swiftly turn in a construction proposal.
Although Ku has voted against the NT$480 billion (US$12.3 billion) arms deal package that includes eight diesel submarines, 12 P-3C sub-hunting aircraft and 3 PAC-3 missile batteries, he has lobbied for an advanced submarines force.
He said some people in Taiwan and US defense circles are concerned that the submarine deal has moved so slowly.
The US sold four Kidd-class destroyers to Taiwan in 2001. The rest of the ships are expected to be delivered between next year and 2007.
The navy had said the process of renovating the four destroyers has been proceeding smoothly in Deytens, South Carolina.
‘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
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
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
The Taipei District Court today ruled to extend the incommunicado detention of former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇) for two more months as part of an ongoing corruption trial. Codefendants in the case — real-estate tycoon Sheen Ching-jing (沈慶京) and Ko's former mayoral office head Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗) — were granted bail of NT$100 million (US$3.4 million) and NT$20 million respectively. Sheen and Lee would also be barred from leaving the country for eight months and prohibited from contact with, harassing, threatening or inquiring after the case with codefendants or witnesses. The two would also be
RSS