HIGH DEMAND: The military is in talks with the US to buy tanks and authorize their construction or assembly in Taiwan, with the assessment to be finished by year end
Taipei Times
Date: May 01, 2018
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter
Officials are evaluating the possibility of procuring M1A2 tanks, but the nation also hopes
A Chinese Xian H-6 bomber conducts an “island-surrounding patrol” on the border of Taiwan’s airspace on Thursday last week. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
to build some of the tanks domestically, Minister of National Defense Yen Teh-fa (嚴德發) said yesterday.
Yen made the statement at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, which was scheduled to review the potential effects of proposed pension reform on military personnel once the plan is implemented in July.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) asked if the ministry has a new plan for its tanks, given the new challenges posed by a strategic shift to focus on asymmetric warfare.
While the demand for tanks is high, as they are key in winning decisive littoral battles, the military and the US are in the process of assessing the possibility of a deal, Yen said, adding that the government has not yet made an official purchase request.
[FULL STORY]
