The Ministry of National Defense is to obtain three asymmetric warfare weapons for the army and air force, in addition to the navy’s ongoing program to develop small fast-attack missile boats, an anonymous senior defense official said.
The army is to be given medium-range anti-tank missiles and a ground mobile minelayer system, and the air force is to be given a new gun-based close-in weapons system, the official said.
The ministry favors buying the equipment from domestic sources whenever possible and would consider buying from foreign suppliers only if local firms are unable to produce the weapons, the official said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The consultation period with domestic industries began earlier this month and the Ministry of Economic Affairs has begun a feasibility study of the nation’s capability to manufacture the weapons, they said.
The ministry is pressing forward with the fast-attack missile boat program, despite misgivings among members of the military and the shipbuilding sector, the official said.
The army needs anti-tank missiles and the minelayer system to combat enemy armor in anti-amphibious operations, the official said.
The air force’s request for a close-in weapons system was prompted by the rising threat of Chinese air and naval forces, which have been conducting exercises at the edges of Taiwan’s airspace, they said.
The close-in weapons system would protect installations on Taiwan’s east coast, particularly the Chiashan Base’s (佳山) underground complex in Hualien County, the official said.
A mission requirement for the minelayers, that they be capable of laying mines on Taiwan proper as well as Kinmen and Matsu, has sparked concerns from some ministry officials, sources said.
The officials have said that as the military has just completed clearing Kinmen and Matsu of landmines, procuring another minelaying system with such a mission requirement could alarm the public, the sources said.
Military procurements are determined by operational needs, ministry spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said.
The minelayers would lay anti-tank mines, which comply with international conventions, not anti-personnel mines, Chen said.
Their operational role would involve laying mines on the likely approach routes of enemy armor units as battles develop, not emplacing semi-permanent minefields, he said.
In related news, the Taiwan Shipbuilding Industry Association yesterday began hosting a two-day media tour for major shipbuilders and defense industry firms involved in the manufacture of machinery, bullet-proof materials, and assault boats and helicopter maintenance.
Ko Lead Aerospace Co (科力航太), Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co (中信造船), Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, HCG Corp (和成集團) and Champion Auto Co (金賓汽車) are among the industries participating in the event.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
RSS