Mishandling of a guided missile frigate program has set Taiwan two decades behind its peers, the Control Yuan said yesterday as it handed down a corrective measure against the Navy Command and the Ministry of National Defense over the issue.
Failure to build new frigates on time and in sufficient quantity has robbed the navy of initiative amid the “gray zone” tactics of China, Control Yuan members Lai Ting-ming (賴鼎銘), Lin Wen-cheng (林文程) and Hsiao Tzu-yu (蕭自佑) wrote in a news release.
In 2008, the ministry and top navy brass began plans to obtain a flotilla of next-generation frigates with an emphasis on modern battle management capabilities equivalent to the Aegis combat system, the members said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Defense officials and navy commanders launched two programs to develop the indigenous frigates — the 2012 Xunlian Project for the Aegis-like combat system and other equipment for the ships, and the 2014 Zhenhai Project for the frigates themselves, the members said.
The projects ran into a multitude of setbacks, most of which stemmed from indecision, as the groups involved were unable to agree on a common set of requirements and constantly backpedaled on decisions, they said.
Disagreements erupted a month after the ministry submitted a plan for the projects and the navy demurred from signing a contract for the Zhenhai Project with the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, citing the program’s “immaturity,” the members said.
In April 2020, the navy declared that the acquisition of shipborne active electronically scanned array radars (AESA) to replace passive arrays was a high priority and linked the AESA to the Zhenhai Project without changing the project’s timetable, they said.
That meant the navy had reversed its decision to use the Chungshan Institute to build the ships, they said.
Six months later, navy brass moved to terminate the Xunlian Project, citing a failure to meet capability requirements despite its certification to the contrary, they said.
In 2021, the navy scrapped the original concept for frigates with Aegis-equivalent systems altogether, instead proposing to build just two light frigates to counter incursions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, they said.
The service had seriously erred in its indecisiveness over the frigate program’s requirements and acting in contradiction to the requirements set by the Zhenhai Project, which accepted the utilization of passive electronically scanned arrays (PESA), they said.
Although Taiwan’s navy in 2017 submitted an AESA solicitation to the Chungshan Institute, the documentation showed that the capability requirements it described were virtually identical to the PESA system proposed in the Zhenhai Project, the members said.
There was no ground for the navy to claim that the institute failed to deliver a system with the required specifications because of the potentially misleading solicitation, they said.
As the party responsible for establishing the performance metrics of the combat system, the navy committed obvious errors in not providing consistent specifications for the capabilities it wanted, they said.
The ramifications of the mistakes include the navy’s loss of initiative in waters around Taiwan, a 20-year technology lag by the standards of regional naval forces and a continued reliance on Chi Yang-class frigates, which have been in service for more than 50 years, they added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
RSS