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.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
RSS