The procurement of 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft from the United States will meet the military's minimum combat demand and expand its undersea surveillance scope more than 10-fold, according to a report presented yesterday to the legislature by the Ministry of National Defense.
While seven of the planes are expected to be delivered to Taiwan in 2009, the other five will be delivered in 2011, the report says.
It says the ministry originally reserved NT$53.04 billion (US$1.7 billion) in a special budget proposal for the 12 aircraft, but the amount has recently been adjusted to NT$45.04 billion following changes in the exchange rate and cutbacks in spending and coverage of some of the amount by the government's regular budget.
It points out that the military's existing S-2T anti-submarine planes, which have been in service for more than 40 years, are no longer capable of meeting the military's combat demands and that the military needs to replace the planes to enhance its three-dimensional anti-submarine capabilities.
China has in recent years developed the Song-class submarine and nuclear-powered submarines and has also purchased Kilo-class submarines from Russia, the report notes.
In the event of a Chinese blockade of Taiwan, the nation's economy and security will be seriously jeopardized, it says.
Lin Chin-ching (林勤經), head of the ministry's Integrated Assessment Office, predicted that China will have the ability to build aircraft carriers in 2008 and to form an aircraft carrier battle group in 2015 to gain sea dominance in the Taiwan Strait.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
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