Taiwan must procure additional missile and artillery systems to counter improvements China has made to its strike, amphibious assault and joint operations capabilities, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, saying that the Ministry of National Defense plans to purchase M109A7 self-propelled howitzers, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-armor drone missile systems and TOW 2B anti-armor missiles.
The procurements are intended to bolster Taiwan’s defenses against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) growing ability to conduct joint fire strikes, cross-strait transport and amphibious landing operations, he said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The legislature on May 8 passed a special defense budget authorizing up to NT$300 billion (US$9.53 billion) for a first round of US arms purchases and NT$480 billion for a second round. Its Finance Committee and Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee yesterday heard a report on the funding arrangements.
The first procurement package totals NT$294.99 billion, including NT$8.81 billion allocated for the 2026 fiscal year for weapons systems, logistics support, engineering facilities and procurement operations, the ministry said.
The M109A7 howitzer is equipped with GPS-guided automated fire control and digital command-and-control systems, enabling precision strikes at ranges of up to 30km, Koo said.
Drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war, precision ground firepower could be used to target enemy command posts, logistics hubs and communications centers, creating favorable battlefield conditions, he said.
The PLA’s strategy has shifted from traditional beachhead assaults to rapid multidomain operations aimed at establishing air superiority over the Taiwan Strait, weakening Taiwan’s air defenses and paralyzing military command systems before launching amphibious invasion operations, he said.
Koo outlined how the systems would support Taiwan across three phases of joint operations: integrated air and missile defense, anti-landing operations and homeland defense.
HIMARS would be capable of conducting deep strikes against enemy missile launch platforms within a 300km range, he said.
Combined with domestically developed anti-ballistic missile systems, existing Patriot and Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) systems, drone countermeasure systems and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted decisionmaking platforms, Taiwan could establish a more effective all-domain air defense network, he said.
During anti-landing operations, the military would use its command, surveillance and reconnaissance network together with AI-assisted systems to guide precision missiles, artillery and coastal attack drones against enemy landing forces, Koo said.
He also emphasized the growing importance of drones, AI-assisted decisionmaking systems and integrated battlefield communications networks in bolstering the nation’s asymmetric warfare and attrition warfare capabilities.
Anti-armor systems, including Javelin missiles, TOW 2B missiles and anti-armor drone missile systems would improve the military’s ability to strike enemy armored vehicles and invasion forces with precision, Koo said.
The defense minister urged lawmakers to approve the proposed budget, saying that the planned procurements are necessary to maintain combat readiness and safeguard national security.
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