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
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RSS