Lawmakers yesterday approved a special budget of NT$247.2 billion (US$8.1 billion) for the procurement of 66 F-16V jets from the US.
Lawmakers reached a consensus on the final amount during cross-caucus talks, trimming NT$10 million from the logistical fees budget.
According to the Special Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets (新式戰機採購特別條例), passed in September, the procurement package covers the acquisition of the jets and their equipment, as well as the acquisition, maintenance, development and manufacture of ancillary systems.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The fund would be drawn from loans and surplus revenue from the previous fiscal year, it says.
If the expenditure exceeds the approved budget due to currency fluctuations, an item should be proposed in the general budget to cover the shortfall, it says.
Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers signed up to speak after the passage of the special budget.
The procurement plan for new US fighter jets was the first since 1992, after the nation’s two bids in 2000 and 2008 were rejected by Washington, DPP Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) said.
The choice of the F-16V over the F-35B, which the nation initially expressed an interest in buying, was necessary, as even if Taipei gained Washington’s consent, it would have to wait more than 10 years before it could start receiving the planes, which would create a loophole in the nation’s air defense, Tsai said.
The nation’s fleet of F-16s are more than 20 years old, which poses a security risk for air force pilots, he said, adding that procurement of the new jets resolves this issue.
The F-16Vs would be equipped with active electronically scanned array radars, allowing pilots to detect the locations of People’s Liberation Army planes at an early stage, thereby significantly boosting their air advantage, he said.
DPP Legislator Karen Yu (余宛如) said the approval of the budget was a “historic moment.”
The nation is acquiring the F-16Vs for US$121 million per unit, which is the lowest among all the countries that have secured a deal to purchase the jet, she said.
The new fleet of F-16Vs would replace the old fleet of F-5 jets and be deployed at the Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, which occupies an important strategic position that serves as a passageway to the Miyako Strait and the Bashi Channel, a portal to Guam, she said.
Saying that national security is a nonpartisan issue, she thanked ruling and opposition lawmakers for supporting the budget.
The legislature only spent 46 working days to approve the Special Act on the Procurement of Updated Fighter Jets and the special budget, which was comparable to “the speed of light” in terms of the time it would normally take lawmakers to pass a bill, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said.
Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) this month said that the nation would receive two F-16Vs for testing in 2023 and would have received all 66 planes by 2026.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS