The military is to oversee the establishment of the first tank battalion to be fully outfitted with M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks, the creation of drone units within the army, and address issues such as draft dodging and how to better protect the anonymity of military personnel online, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo made the comments during a National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting.
The first M1A2T tank battalion would be officially established on Friday next week and assigned to the army’s 584th Armored Brigade in Hsinchu County, Koo said.
Photo: Fang Bin-chao, Taipei Times
The army’s more than 1,000 tanks, including CM-11s and M60A3s, have been in service for several decades, so the military has sought to modernize its tank inventory by purchasing new engines for the M60A3s, upgrading their fire control systems and allocating NT$4.05 billion (US$131.4 million) to purchase 108 additional M1A2T tanks.
Unlike previous tank models, which required the crew to seek, aim and engage a target before moving on to the next target, the new M1A2T’s fire control system designates a target for the gunner and immediately moves on to the next, Koo said.
Of the 108 tanks purchased, 80 have already been delivered, he said, adding that the first batch of 38 have been refitted, distributed for training and undergone a gunnery exercise in July.
The military is building up its counter-drone capabilities, including anti-missile and anti-drone defenses, the funding for which would be made available in the ministry’s upcoming special budget, he said.
Regarding Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chun-yu’s (陳俊宇) suggestion that drone operators be eligible for additional pay, Koo said that the ministry would discuss the issue, adding that drone operators already qualify for combat bonuses.
Asked whether the US government shutdown would affect the delivery dates of US arms packages purchased by the military, Koo said that companies contracted for the arms deals were not military and would not be affected by the shutdown, but the ministry would keep a close eye on the issue.
The ministry is considering allowing personnel to use aliases while on the job, Koo said in response to DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu’s (王定宇) questions regarding China’s “bounty” on military personnel.
The “bounty” was a mish-mash of information and part of cognitive warfare, he said.
Wang said that the military should not assign aliases to everyone, as this would render them redundant. He added that the military should compensate soldiers named by China, regardless of whether the information was correct.
As for the mandatory military service, the requirements have not changed, Koo said.
The changes announced by the Ministry of the Interior would only affect people serving alternative military service, he added.
Several entertainers, including Taiwanese boy band Energy member Hsieh Kun-da (謝坤達) were arrested for allegedly falsifying medical records to dodge the draft.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS