Taiwan’s military on Wednesday said it received a payment of NT$5.2 billion (US$159.86 million) from RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp.) after the defense contractor was found by the United States government to have engaged in price gouging, with Taiwan among the buyers affected.
The NT$5.2 billion payment was received on Tuesday and promptly wired to the national treasury, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a press statement.
The MND said it received the payment after RTX reached a settlement in October with the U.S. government following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into price gouging by the defense contractor in foreign military sales.
Photo: CNA
A DOJ press statement released on Oct. 16 said RTX, would pay over US$950 million to resolve federal charges it defrauded the U.S. Department of Defense into overpaying for defense systems and bribed an official in Qatar to secure business from the Middle East country’s air force.
At the time, the countries impacted by the incident were unnamed.
However, it has since come to light that Taiwan was one of the affected buyers, having been overcharged for a radar system in 2013, and the Patriot missile system in 2017, which is a key component of Taiwan’s surface to air defense.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The MND has never revealed the exact amount Taiwan overpaid RTX or the weapons systems involved.
Wednesday’s MND statement also said that the government has asked the U.S. to thoroughly probe all defense procurement deals involving RTX to ensure there are no similar overpricing cases involving Taiwan.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS