The Ministry of National Defense is to allocate an estimated NT$10.6 billion (US$341.33 million) for a domestic submarine program, its budget report for next year said.
The navy has asked for NT$9.75 billion to continue building a prototype submarine, the construction of which began this year, the report said, adding that the navy intends to complete the vessel before the end of 2025.
Another NT$819.1 million was requested by the navy to to finalize the design contract of the submarine, which is to pay for the development of combat systems and the platform, and for laying the groundwork of the design details, it said.
The navy is to send a delegation of six people to the US and six more to Europe, where they are to inspect contractors’ ability to manufacture articles to specification and deliver them on time, the report said.
The US-bound team has eight days for their task and the Europe-bound team 11 days, with a total budget of NT$1.8 million, it said.
The military has been tight-lipped about the companies that were awarded contracts for the submarine program. Last year, then-navy chief of staff Vice Admiral Lee Tsung-hsiao (李宗孝) told lawmakers that 15 companies in the US and Europe had expressed an interest in bidding.
In March, the military furnished technology transfer licensing documents to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and lawmakers were reportedly satisfied, sources said.
With Washington having approved a slew of arms sales to the nation, the armed forces are to send officers to the US to learn about the weapon systems Taiwan is to procure, the report said.
Military officers are to attend technical conferences with their counterparts and weapons manufacturers, including makers of Stinger portable air defense systems, AIM-X air-to-air missiles, TOW-2B anti-tank guided missiles, F-16V jets and M1A2 Abrams tanks, it said.
Liaison teams are to be established in the US to provide fiscal and technical oversight, and to coordinate systems integration and logistical organization, it said.
Navy and air force representatives are to attend a leadership seminar at the US Naval Academy and next year’s Mobility Guardian exercise held by the US Air Force at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord respectively, it said.
The command sergeant of the General Staff is expected to meet their US counterpart, while the Reserve Command plans to observe the training of army reservists by the US Indo-Pacific Command in September next year, it said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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