The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday thanked the US after Washington approved the sale of a US$180 million arms package, mainly involving a minelaying system.
The sale includes the M136 “Volcano” automated mine delivery system and the M977A4 HEMTT 10-tonne cargo trucks on which the system would be mounted, the ministry said.
Developed in the 1980s, the system can be mounted on ground vehicles or helicopters and uses prepackaged mine canisters that contain multiple anti-personnel and anti-tank mines that can be dispersed over large areas.
Photo: Screengrab from US Army website
The equipment would significantly boost Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare capabilities, as it enables more efficient anti-tank mine placement, the ministry said.
The sale embodies Washington’s commitment to ensuring that Taiwan can defend itself, as stated by the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances,” the ministry said, expressing its “sincere gratitude” to the US.
The ministry added that arms sales are likely to be formally confirmed by the US Congress within a month.
Photo: Screengrab from US Army website
The Executive Yuan approved the proposal to buy the minelaying system last year, an unnamed military source told the Central News Agency earlier this year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the latest deal is the eighth arms sale to Taiwan by the administration of US President Joe Biden, which “fully demonstrates the US government’s high regard for Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the proposed sale on Wednesday.
Photo: CNA
“The proposed sale will improve the recipient’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force capable of deterring adversaries and participating in regional operations,” the agency said in a statement.
The weapons package also includes M87A1 anti-tank munitions, M88 canister training munitions and M89 training munitions, as well as related logistics support and technical assistance.
According to the US Federal Procurement Data System, there are plans to supply Taiwan with the International Field Artillery Tactical Data System (IFATDS), the international version of the US Army’s Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System.
The system increases the lethality of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems by providing a secure communications system combining information from sources across the battlefield for a better operating picture and greater situational awareness.
The Ukrainian-language Ukrayinska Pravda news site has reported that Kyiv would purchase 18 sets of IFATDS from the US.
The purchase would be conducted using funds from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the report said.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS