The US-Taiwan Business Council called a potential US$2 billion US arms sale package to Taiwan “an important development” and commended both sides for coming to an agreement.
The package is made up of US$1.16 billion in missile systems, and US$828 million in radar systems.
The missile systems are three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), which are being exported to Taiwan for the first time and would make it only the third country in the region with access to them after Australia and Indonesia, according to US Defense officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, and the radars are AN/TPS-77 and AN/TPS-78 systems.
Photo: Screen grab from RTX Web site
NASAMS have been deployed in Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called them “proven” in a statement expressing thanks on Friday last week.
The missiles and radar “serve as a significant step forward in the modernization of Taiwan’s air-defense architecture” said the council’s president, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, adding that they represent a “significant broadening” of US President Joe Biden’s administration’s approach to Taiwan’s defense.
The council has often commented on defense matters relating to the two countries, as it hosts the annual US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference which brings together officials and experts from both nations.
Hammond-Chambers went on to say that this program should lead to “greater consideration of all the military threats posed to Taiwan,” as the radar systems will allow for much more maritime and aerial surveillance of Taiwan to defend against “gray zone” activities by China.
The NASAMS will be integrated into a defense architecture that already includes Patriot-III missile, also American, and Taiwan’s domestically developed Tien-Kung III missile defenses, the statement read.
He called on Taiwan’s military to further strengthen its defenses and ensure adequate supplies of ammunition and missile components in preparation for a conflict.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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