Taiwan yesterday said it has signed a NT$4.5 billion (US$144.8 million) deal to purchase 14 anti-tank munition-laying systems from the US.
Under the deal, which was signed recently and became effective on Wednesday last week, the US-made arms are scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2029, the Ministry of National Defense said in a public notice yesterday.
The purchase deal followed the US Department of State’s approval in December last year of a proposed US$180 million arms package for Taiwan, including vehicle-launched Volcano anti-tank munition-laying systems and M977A4 HEMTT 10-tonne cargo trucks on which those systems would be mounted.
Photo: screen grab from the US Army Reserve Web site
In the public notice, the ministry did not explain the discrepancy between the US$180 million proposal and the completed deal of NT$4.5 billion.
Army Command Headquarters said that the military’s proposal for the purchase of the US-made vehicle-launched Volcano anti-tank munition-laying systems was first put forth in 2018.
The main advantage of this type of system is its ability to rapidly deploy anti-tank mines over a large area to repel an amphibious landing, the command headquarters said.
The Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network said the M136 mine dispenser provides soldiers with a scatterable mine capability delivered by helicopter or ground vehicles.
Each Volcano dispenser contains 960 anti-tank/anti-personnel mines, and is capable of laying a minefield 1,100m long by 120m wide within four to 12 minutes, the network said. In addition, the mines have a timed self-destruct capability, it said.
At a ministry news conference in January, army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chang Yuan-hsun (章元勳) tried to quell concerns that the mine dispersing system would turn Taiwan into an island of mines.
If the military knows where hostiles will be landing, it can use the system to lay landmines swiftly on certain parts of a beach rather than on the entire beach, he said.
“If an enemy chooses to land, it will have to pay the price,” he said, touting the mine-dispensing system as capable of slowing the advance of enemy troops.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS