Taiwan’s Patriot missiles are getting a maintenance package of NT$2.52 billion (US$84.1 million) over four-and-a-half years from the US, a notification about the deal issued by the Ministry of National Defense showed on Thursday.
The US Department of State in February approved the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s request to offer a maintenance package for Taiwanese Patriot PAC-2/GEM and Patriot PAC-3 missile defense systems, said a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
US-made Patriot missile defense systems are designed to shoot down hostile aircraft and ballistic missiles, capabilities that experts said Taiwan urgently needs amid China’s frequent incursions into its air defense identification zone and live-fire missile tests last week.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
The package includes support through the US Army International Engineering Services Program and the Field Surveillance Program, the official told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
The programs would ensure that the missiles systems are reliable, adequately supplied with parts and upgraded, they said.
These services were originally listed at US$100 million, with a program duration of five years, but the price was reduced following negotiations between Taipei and Washington, they said.
The contract was signed by a ministry-led delegation of military officers and American Institute in Taiwan officials, and took effect on July 20, they said.
Taiwan operates PAC-3s and PAC-2/GEMs — which are PAC-2s upgraded to PAC-3 performance standards. Improved PAC-3/MSEs are expected to be delivered in 2025 and 2026.
Separately, the nation’s defense budget is slated to grow 4.2 percent next year, more than the 4.09 percent the Cabinet previously said it was considering, an official familiar with the matter said.
Next year’s defense budget would be NT$15.4 billion higher than this year’s budget of NT$367.6 billion, they said, adding that the largest budget items would be personnel costs, operational costs and arms procurement.
The salaries and benefits of military service members are important issues to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), which is reflected in the budget plan prepared under the supervision of Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), they said.
Asked what weapons Taiwan is planning to obtain next year, the official declined to comment, citing national security implications.
Social welfare programs would remain the largest item in the government’s overall budget next year, at nearly one-quarter of the NT$2.7 trillion plan, they said.
One of the most significant changes in social welfare spending is a child-rearing subsidy increase to NT$5,000 per month, from NT$3,500 per month this year, and higher subsidies for fertility treatments, they said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,