The military’s Link 16 network acquisition is expected to be completed by 2026 as per a NT$2 billion (US$60.9 million) contract signed with the American Institute in Taiwan, the Government e-Procurement System showed yesterday.
The military said that its Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command would be in charge of the project, which would have its principal installations in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) and Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營).
The acquisition would build solid foundations for the military’s joint-force combat missions, it said.
Photo: screen grab from the L3 Harris Web site
Link 16 is part of a military tactical data network used by NATO members. It allows planes, ships and land-based vehicles to share near-real-time tactical information by text, image or voice.
However, the military said it is only receiving the “lite” version and the system is not installed on all equipment.
The urgency of acquiring the “full” version of the network grows with every purchase of US equipment Taiwan makes, it said.
The US government notified the US Congress on Feb. 21 of its intent to sell the advanced Link 16 system upgrade to Taiwan, which was estimated to have a value of US$75 million.
The Ministry of National Defense in February said that the upgrade to the system would be a significant boost to the military’s command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
The project would allow the US and Taiwanese armed forces to share information and create a joint-force-friendly environment, Institute of National Defense and Security Research fellow Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲) said.
Even if the US were not directly involved in a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the Pentagon could gain valuable data about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s deployments and strategies via the Japanese Self-Defense Force, which also uses the Link 16 system, Su said.
Separately, the ministry yesterday responded to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin’s (林楚茵) comments last week that loans could give Chinese spies a possible way to influence Taiwanese military personnel.
Lin said that military personnel taking out loans could be coerced into giving up classified information to repay their debts.
She urged the ministry to propose amending laws to legalize the Armed Forces Partner Saving Department.
The ministry said that it continues to educate military service members on proper savings methods and investments.
The ministry said it would consider the suggestion to amend the Statute of Favors for Military Servicemen and Their Dependents (軍人及其家屬優待條例) to provide a basis for legalizing the department.
Additional reporting by CNA
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS: Trump and Xi respect each other, are in a unique position to do something great, and they want to do that together, the US envoy to China said The administration of US President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “we don’t want any coercion, but we want [the Taiwan dispute] resolved peacefully,” US ambassador to China David Perdue said in a TV interview on Thursday. Trump “has said very clearly, we are not changing the ‘one China’ policy, we are going to adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques and the ‘six assurances’ that were done under [former US president Ronald] Reagan,” Perdue told Joe Kernen, cohost of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances” are guidelines for Washington
DEEPENING TIES: The two are boosting cooperation in response to China’s coercive actions and have signed MOUs on search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling efforts Taiwan and Japan are moving to normalize joint coast guard training and considering the inclusion of other allies, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. Both nations’ coast guards in June sent vessels to the seas south of the Sakishima Islands to conduct joint training, the report said, adding that it was the second joint maritime training exercise since the nations severed formal diplomatic ties in September 1972. Japan dispatched the Nagoya Coast Guard’s Mizuho, a 134m, 6,000-tonne patrol vessel which can carry a helicopter, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sent the 126m, 4,000-tonne Yunlin, one of its largest vessels, the report