The Ministry of National Defense plans to spend more than NT$1.1 billion (US$36 million) to build three special operations and counterterrorism bases over three years for use by the navy and the military police, the ministry’s budget for next year showed.
The navy is to build a multifunctional special operations training base for NT$698.04 million and a maritime special operations training base for NT$134.25 million, while NT$269.21 million has been reserved for a joint special operations training base for the military police, the document said.
The multifunctional base, which is to be equipped with computers that can simulate training scenarios, is slated for use by the Special Service Squadron of the marine corps’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit, it said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The program is to have a NT$11.42 million budget next year and base construction should be completed in 2022, it said.
The maritime base is to be used for improving formational and individual combat skills, as well as enhancing amphibious assault and special operations capabilities, it said.
The base is to have facilities for air insertion training and hostage rescue drills on ships, vehicles and airplanes, it said, adding that the base could accommodate the training needs of other military units.
The ministry is to spend NT$4.51 million constructing the maritime base next year and completion is scheduled for 2021, it said.
The joint training base is slated for use by the military police, which has an important role in the defense of Taipei, security operations and urban warfare.
The base is to be capable of simulating conventional military combat, as well as special operations in modern built-up areas, for training of military and regular police units, it said.
The joint training base is to be allotted NT$2.12 million for the portion of the program scheduled for next year and is expected to be completed in 2022, it said.
Separately, the navy next month is to commission two Perry-class guided missile frigates that were bought from the US.
Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Lee Tsung-hsiao (李宗孝) yesterday told the legislature that training and preparations are under way for the commissioning of the two vessels.
When asked how the ships would improve the nation’s defense capability, Lee said that the Perry-class’ anti-submarine capabilities are superior to those of the navy’s eight Cheng Kung-class frigates.
The two frigates, built in the 1980s and named the USS Taylor and USS Gary by the US Navy, were delivered in May last year.
Renamed Ming Chuan (銘傳) and Feng Chia (逢甲), they are to join the navy’s 146th Fleet based in Penghu and would be deployed on patrols in the Taiwan Strait, the navy said.
The vessels are highly mobile and equipped with SQQ-89 undersea warfare combat systems and SQR-19 sonar systems, both of which the navy said would bolster their anti-submarine capabilities.
In December 2014, then-US president Barack Obama authorized the sale of four Perry-class frigates to Taiwan.
The government allocated about NT$5.5 billion for the purchase of two of the ships.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
TALKS CONTINUE: Although an agreement has not been reached with Washington, lowering the tariff from 32 percent to 20 percent is still progress, the vice premier said Taiwan would strive for a better US tariff rate in negotiations, with the goal being not just lowering the current 20-percent tariff rate, but also securing an exemption from tariff stacking, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said yesterday. Cheng made the remarks at a news conference at the Executive Yuan explaining the new US tariffs and the government’s plans for supporting affected industries. US President Donald Trump on July 31 announced a new tariff rate of 20 percent on Taiwan’s exports to the US starting on Thursday last week, and the Office of Trade Negotiations on Friday confirmed that it
RSS