In response to media speculation on tension within Taiwan’s military delegation to the US, delegation head Tan Chih-lung (淡志隆) yesterday said he has grievances concerning deputy chief Hsu Wei-kuang (徐偉光).
In a letter to the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper), an anonymous person said Tan had accused Hsu of making more than 30 serious mistakes.
In response, the Ministry of National Defense said the matter was under investigation and the results would be made public when the probe is finished.
A delegation member who spoke on condition of anonymity said Tan and Hsu have long had problems, with each suspicious that the other is making accusations behind their back. Tan suspects that the decision to send him back to Taiwan in January — before the end of his three-year assignment — was related to meddling by Hsu, the source said.
The most serious error Tan accused Hsu of making had to do with arms procurements from the US, people familiar with the matter said.
Tan alleged that Hsu, after the US agreed to sell PAC-3 missiles to Taiwan, sought the purchase from other sources of missiles produced by original equipment manufacturers, sources said. After Tan found wide differences in pricing, he reportedly wrote to the military to inquire whether the purchase was necessary.
The military replied that the missiles must be purchased from the original manufacturers. Tan said he was acting according to instructions.
Tan rebutted reports that the ministry had assigned officials to Washington to probe the matter.
He declined to comment further before the ministry had concluded its probe.
Representative to the US Jason Yuan (袁健生) said he regretted that there was tension within the military delegation, but said he was satisfied with its overall performance.
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