The first two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates purchased by Taiwan from the US are expected to be delivered in 2015, Navy Chief of Staff Kao Tien-chung (高天忠) said yesterday.
The two warships, which cost NT$5.2 billion (US$175 million), are to replace two Knox-class frigates, whose condition is the worst in the entire fleet, Kao said during a hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
The ships are part of an order of four Perry-class frigates that the US government has agreed to sell to Taiwan, he said.
On Wednesday, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously agreed to introduce legislation that would authorize the sale of the four frigates — the USS Taylor (FFG-50), USS Gary (FFG-51), USS Carr (FFG-52) and USS Elrod (FFG-55) — to Taiwan.
The four warships were commissioned between 1984 and 1985 and, except for the USS Gary, which was decommissioned in March, are all in active service.
Kao added that between 2015 and 2018, Taiwan would design and build its own salvage ship prototype and another amphibious warfare ship.
The navy is also planning to buy 36 used AAV-7 assault amphibious vehicles from the US.
With its river-crossing ability, the AAV-7 will help strengthen the mobility and expeditionary capabilities of the marine corps, he said.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) questioned the necessity of the purchases, given that the military already has 54 AAV-7s.
Equipped with 50-caliber machine guns and 40mm automatic grenades, the AAV-7 is not powerful enough and does not necessarily have better mobility than wheeled armored vehicles, Lin said.
He suggested that the military consider acquiring more Taiwan-made Yunpao CM-32 eight-wheeled armored vehicles to meet its needs.
EVA Airways was ranked the eighth-best airline in the world for this year, the only Taiwanese carrier to make it into the top 25 Airline Excellence Awards this year, aviation reviews Web site AirlineRatings.com said on Wednesday. AirlineRatings.com has a seven-star rating system to evaluate more than 360 airlines around the world every year, EVA Airways said in a statement on Thursday. “We are delighted that efforts by the entire EVA staff have been recognized by Airline Ratings,” EVA Airways president Clay Sun (孫嘉明) said in the release. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company identified and adopted services and procedures that enhance and
Tropical storm Guchol is moving in a northeasterly direction off the east coast of the Philippines and will not hit Taiwan, but will impact local weather starting on Friday, the Central Weather Bureau said Thursday. The storm would bring a low-pressure system northward toward the vicinity of Taiwan, forecaster Chao Hung (趙竑) said. Northern Taiwan will see intermittent rain showers in the morning, and thunderstorms in the afternoon on Friday, he said, adding that rain would be heavier on the east coast and in the central-southern mountainous areas. Rainfall would continue into Saturday, and would spread throughout Taiwan proper, he
Exiled Chinese democracy advocate Wang Dan (王丹) yesterday denied an accusation by former Taiwanese political worker Lee Yuan-chun (李援軍) that Wang had sexually harassed him in a hotel room in New York nine years ago. There was a huge gap between Lee’s accusation and his own understanding and memory, Wang wrote on Facebook, adding it was hard for him to respond further regarding a “unilateral description” made by someone else. Wang made the remarks after his initial response on Facebook was met with criticism, with people saying he did not directly address the allegation. Lee on Friday wrote on Facebook that he
#METOO MOVEMENT: A woman who formerly worked at the TPP said that she was repeatedly harassed by a party deputy secretary last year and it was covered up Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced new party procedures for filing complaints and investigating reports of sexual misconduct in response to more accusations of negligence against the party in handling reports of sexual abuse. In what local media dubbed Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, more people went public yesterday with allegations about the DPP, other parties and local governments. Lai said he deeply regrets the situation and apologized to the victims, while also praising them for having the courage to come forward. “When facing bullying and violations in the workplace, it is most important to stand up to