Taiwan might soon acquire Aegis-equipped warships or other in-demand weapons systems if reports are accurate that the US Congress plans to authorize US$10 billion of military aid to Taiwan, Taiwanese defense experts said.
US lawmakers are ready to back military aid packages to Taiwan in that amount as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the next fiscal year, a Bloomberg reporter on Thursday wrote on Twitter, adding that details are to be released imminently.
In Taipei, a defense official said on condition of anonymity that information about specific items is classified, adding that Taiwan continues to exchange views about its force planning with the US.
Photo: Reuters
Taipei and Washington should carefully consider which weapons Taiwan needs that cannot be developed or obtained independently, Institute for National Defense and Security Research analyst Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌) said.
These weapons include next-generation principal surface combatants equipped with the Aegis combat system, anti-submarine warfare helicopters, electronic warfare enhancements, airborne early warning and control systems, and drones, he said.
Taiwan urgently needs such capabilities to protect vital air and sea communication links that would likely be attacked in a Chinese military operation, he said, citing the Pentagon’s China Military Power Report 2022.
Defence International editor Chen Kuo-ming (陳國銘) said the significance of the reported increase in US military aid can be inferred from its scale, given that US aid to Ukraine is US$18 billion.
The dramatic boost in aid also suggests that Washington believes that the risks confronting Taiwan are extremely high, he added.
Taipei can make use of the aid packages by purchasing precision-guided munitions, Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft systems, or use the money to pay for existing orders, he said.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
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
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
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS