The US Department of State has approved a US$300 million sale of equipment to help maintain Taiwan’s tactical information systems, the Pentagon said on Friday, the latest US assistance for the country’s defenses.
US law requires it to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the sale was for follow-on life cycle support to maintain Taiwan’s command, control, communications and computer (C4) capabilities.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
The support would improve Taiwan’s capability to “meet current and future threats by enhancing operational readiness” and maintain existing C4 capabilities that provide a secure flow of tactical information, it added.
In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that the sale would help maintain the effectiveness of its joint combat command and control systems so it can improve battlefield awareness.
“The Chinese communists’ frequent military operations around Taiwan presents a serious threat to us,” the ministry said, adding that it expected the sale to “take effect” in one month.
It also expressed its thanks to Washington for the sale.
The US Congress is to be notified and the sale is likely to go ahead.
The Presidential Office said that the deal, the 12th arms sale by US President Joe Biden’s administration to Taipei, demonstrates the great importance the US government attaches to Taiwan’s defensive needs.
A national security source yesterday said that the C4 system’s joint warfare capabilities are inadequate.
The military procured its integrated C4 management system from US defense contractor Lockheed Martin under the Syun An (迅安, “Swift Security”) program, part of the Po Sheng (博勝, “Broad Victory”) program, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Put in effect under then-president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration, the management system was designed to generate a combined operational picture for the entire military, but many problems have been identified, the official said.
Notably, the Syun An system was unable to properly integrate data from the long-range early-warning radar system in the northern mountains and its downgraded Link 16 tactical data network was incompatible with non-US equipment, such as French-made La Fayette-class frigates and Mirage 2000 fighters, as well as Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Fighters, they said.
Although a patch for the system interface compatibility issues was developed, the US did not sell Taiwan enough Link 16 systems to fully equip all of its ships, aircraft, and air defense and radar systems, they said.
The Syun An system has been in use for more than a decade and is showing signs of obsolescence, lacking modern features and ease of use, the official said.
In May, the Ministry of National Defense told lawmakers that the US would help it obtain NATO’s standard Link 22 technology to boost the military’s over-the-horizon networking and counter-electronic warfare capabilities.
Most importantly, the technology would enable true interoperability by generating an identical operational picture for the forces of Taiwan, the US and its allies, according to former US Department of Defense senior director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia Tony Hu (胡振東).
In related news, the ministry yesterday morning said that in the previous 24-hour period it had detected nine Chinese military aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
That line used to serve as an unofficial barrier between the two countries, but China’s air force now regularly sends its aircraft across it, although they have not flown into Taiwan’s territorial airspace.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
PRECISION STRIKES: The most significant reason to deploy HIMARS to outlying islands is to establish a ‘dead zone’ that the PLA would not dare enter, a source said A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be deployed to Penghu County and Dongyin Island (東引) in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to force the Chinese military to retreat at least 100km from the coastline, a military source said yesterday. Taiwan has been procuring HIMARS and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US in batches. Once all batches have been delivered, Taiwan would possess 111 HIMARS units and 504 ATACMS, which have a range of 300km. Considering that “offense is the best defense,” the military plans to forward-deploy the systems to outlying islands such as Penghu and Dongyin so that
‘CLEAR MESSAGE’: The bill would set up an interagency ‘tiger team’ to review sanctions tools and other economic options to help deter any Chinese aggression toward Taiwan US Representative Young Kim has introduced a bill to deter Chinese aggression against Taiwan, calling for an interagency “tiger team” to preplan coordinated sanctions and economic measures in response to possible Chinese military or political action against Taiwan. “[Chinese President] Xi Jinping [習近平] has directed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. China has a plan. America should have one too,” Kim said in a news release on Thursday last week. She introduced the “Deter PRC [People’s Republic of China] aggression against Taiwan act” to “ensure the US has a coordinated sanctions strategy ready should
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
RSS