Taiwan military news and discussion part II

This thing about retiring/mothballing the Mirages. Can someone please clarify for me:

where did the rumour start?

Is it an official view / is it likely to happen?

What's the current status of this plan?


Thanks.

PS. The military stupidity of that plan is so obvious it doesn't bear discussion.

Forget about it, the rumor started from nowhere! It s a nonsense with a totally outdated F-5 fleet...

According to the PRC military expansion, an upgrade for the Mirages would be surely considered as vital though. These birds are better interceptors than most of F-16 standards in town. If it s a question of price, France is not the only country that can upgrade the M2000-5 to the best M2000-9 multirole standard.

The rumour is not nonsense...

1. It is true that the Mirage 2000-5E are very expensive to maintain
2. Lack of parts - like previously have forced the Mirages to be grounded....which presents a dire view....if during a time of need....there are no parts to use...

I'm guessing it was some lawmakers or some military officials, who've started all this.

If Taiwan runs out of money.....yes it will happen......If the military budget continues to decline...I personally believe it may become a official view....

"I'm guessing it was some lawmakers or some military officials, who've started all this. "

Oh C'mon! Are they the same people closed to US interests (...) and who want to push a F-35 deal with the US, terribly more costly than maintaining or upgrading a Mirage fleet?! Check taiwanese opinion out about this kind of enormous military expenses...

There are people in the KMT that are extremely Pro-China, and willing to do something to speed up the "reunification process" or save money..... Don't forget....there are still some high-ranking military officials who have political ties that favour Pro-China.

But then again they are a minority....I'd doubt that they'd be able to push that through the MND or Legislative Yuan. The point is that the exist. Remember when the KMT controlled LY blocked the US arms deal from 2001 to 2007? Some of them argued about cross-strait tension, Taiwan's inability to fight - Why waste money. The view is there....but there is significant opposition to these sorts of views.

Taipei Times - archives

France, Thales to pay out over Lafayette deal: report

After nine years of investigation, an international arbiter has concluded its probe into the sale of Lafayette warships to Taiwan. The French government, along with Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF), may be required to pay 1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) to Taiwan in compensation, Paris-based newspaper Le Parisien reported yesterday.

The three judges are still working on their verdict, but will have it ready in three to four months, a lawyer was quoted as saying.

However, a lawyer for Thales said that if it were to give back US$5 million to the Taiwanese government — the equivalent of the amount that the broker in the arms sale deal, Andrew Wang (汪傳浦), had in his account — the compensation could possibly be reduced, the report said.

When reached for comment, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) told the Taipei Times that the ministry “has not yet received any updated information from France.”

The case stemmed from the Taiwanese Navy’s procurement of six Lafayette-class frigates from French defense company Thomson-CSF. A 2001 investigation concluded that as much as US$400 million in kickbacks may have been paid. Allegations emerged after the body of Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓), who ran the arms acquisitions office, was found floating in the sea off Ilan in 1993.

Taipei Times - archives

Military to cut top brass after restructuring: MND

Vice Minister of National Defense Chang Liang-jen (張良任) told lawmakers yesterday that the number of high-ranking officers would likely drop when the military completes its restructuring plan.

“The appropriate number of high-ranking officers will be decided after the military restructuring,” Chang told the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.

He was responding to a comment by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who told a Presidential Office dinner party on Wednesday that there were too many generals.

Chang told lawmakers that the ministry began plans to cut its ranks last year but has not yet finalized a plan.

“It takes a remarkable academic background, remarkable field experience and a remarkable reputation for management for an officer to become a general. It is not an easy thing,” Chang said.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) suggested the committee amend the National Defense Act (國防法) and the Organic Act of the Ministry of National Defense (國防部組織法).

“We need real generals who have been through strict screening mechanisms and those who have survived and won in the battlefield,” Tsai said.

“We do not need as many 'stars' as we have now,” Tsai said.

Chang, meanwhile, said that the military would continue to be vigilant in monitoring the activities of the Chinese military, even though the Chinese Army recently decided to cancel a regular large-scale exercise in the “Nanjing Military Region.”

The drill usually simulates an attack on Taiwan.

“It is not right to say that the Chinese military has given up its designs on Taiwan just because this exercise was canceled. I certainly would not presume that,” he said. “We remain on high alert as normal.”

Good news for Taiwan over the French scandal, if the report is correct. I suppose the only problem is that whilst the Defence Ministry would claim the money should be their's (given the Kang Dings were bought with their money) the Finance Ministry would try to grab it.

Still at least it would strengthen the Defence Ministry's future procurement requests once the amount has been finalised.

Originally Posted by Mr T

Still at least it would strengthen the Defence Ministry's future procurement requests once the amount has been finalised.

Do you mean french procurement? If so, my opinion is that such an agreement is a preliminary condition for future and potential major arm sales from France to Taiwan ROC.
But I heard about this news a few days before, it s a good thing for better relationships that werent bad in fact.

Originally Posted by Aero_Wing_32

Do you mean french procurement?

No, I meant that it will be easier for the Defence Ministry to get approval from the Finance Ministry for the next couple of procurement projects.

If so, my opinion is that such an agreement is a preliminary condition for future and potential major arm sales from France to Taiwan ROC.

The best way to enable French arms sales would have been an out of court settlement. But once this has been concluded it might allow both countries to move on. Or France and Thales might like to make an agreement where they don't pay/pay less and Taiwan buys something from them at a discounted rate.

Originally Posted by Mr T

The best way to enable French arms sales would have been an out of court settlement. But once this has been concluded it might allow both countries to move on. Or France and Thales might like to make an agreement where they don't pay/pay less and Taiwan buys something from them at a discounted rate.

If they do that and France agrees to sell Rafales that would be good news. Lets hope someone in this administration thinks that, since most of em are Pro-F-16s advocates.

I posted this in the http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/gene...os-7-4403.html. What do you gents think. A simple mistake? Or espionage?

Chinese tourist Ma Zhongfei (R) is escorted by a policeman to a detention centre in Taipei May 26, 2009. The Chinese tourist has been arrested in Taiwan, a self-ruled island China claims as its own, accused of taking illegal photos at a military compound, officials said on Tuesday. The arrest of the man is the first of its kind since Taiwan began allowing Chinese tourists to visit en masse since July, a measure to stimulate the economy.

Originally Posted by bd popeye

I posted this in the http://www.sinodefenceforum.com/gene...os-7-4403.html. What do you gents think. A simple mistake? Or espionage?

[qimg]http://i41.tinypic.com/ra3p7a.jpg[/qimg]

When the Ma administration opened the three links up, and allowed large groups of Chinese tourists to enter I knew something like this would happen. How can it be a simple mistake? There were signs within the building saying what the place was. And sneaking through the back door into the Computer Warfare command area in and taking pictures of the whole surrounding area. Try him for espionage!

Originally Posted by kliu0

When the Ma administration opened the three links up, and allowed large groups of Chinese tourists to enter I knew something like this would happen. How can it be a simple mistake? There were signs within the building saying what the place was. And sneaking through the back door into the Computer Warfare command area in and taking pictures of the whole surrounding area. Try him for espionage!

way to jump to conclusions. there are a million explanations for this until the investigation goes underway. as far as i am concerned it could be the greens in Taiwan trying to play their political game again...as they always do

Kuang Hua VI 2nd Vessel En Route To Handover to the ROCN

Sorry but this is in chinese as no other website has this news article, for those who can't understand use google translate.

軍聞社(Military News Agency)2009年5月26日報導，海軍「光華六號計畫後續艇」建造案，首批2艘(舷號FACG-61、62)交艇典禮，5月26日當天在台灣國際造船公司(CSBC, China Ship Building Corp.)高雄廠區舉行，由海軍司令部司令高廣圻上將及台船公司董事長鄭文隆共同主持，未來將於成軍訓練 後加入海軍戰鬥序列。
交艇典禮於上午10:30舉行，包括海軍前總司令苗永慶、陳邦治上將及前司令王立申上將，以及經濟部政務次 長鄧振中、國防部常務次長林於豹中將、海軍政戰主任孫宜成中將與多位立法委員應邀觀禮，場面隆 重。
典禮首先進行交艇儀式，由台船董事長鄭文隆親自將「光六計畫後續艇」船體模型，致贈給海軍司令高廣圻上將； 隨後，在升旗典禮中，國旗、海軍軍旗及全艦飾旗幟緩緩上升，也象徵海軍新一代飛彈快艇的成軍已向前邁進一大 步。
海軍司令高廣圻致詞強調，這2艘飛彈快艇交艇代表著新生命的開始，全體海軍官兵必將不斷尋求進步與突破，不 僅以身為海軍為榮，更要以創造第一流海軍自我期許。
高廣圻指出，「光華六號」首批舷號61、62的2艘飛彈快艇，是由台船公司依據合約規範建造，並在通過海軍 專業單位嚴格的廠試與公試驗證，確認性能與裝備均符合建造規範要求，展現出優異的造艦技術與能量，也使海軍 對台船公司產能更具信心。且相信陸續建造中的14批、28艘飛彈快艇，定能順利完成建造與通過海軍嚴格的檢 驗，如期如質交付海軍，納入戰鬥行列。
同時，高廣圻要求接艇官兵完成接艇任務後，務必在完成軍訓練任務中全力以赴，達成戰備要求條件，將該型艇戰 力完整呈現在國人面前，並做為後續接艇官兵的標竿，傳承海軍薪火相傳的使命與責任。
高廣圻強調，海軍建軍的任務長久而持續，也絕非一蹴可及，正因如此，才要建立良好的合作夥伴關係，共同協助 海軍完成建軍使命，「光華六號」建案是近年來海軍配合國家政策推動「國艦國造」的指標建案，深切盼望透過本 案執行模式，對未來持續推動的建軍任務，樹立良好作業模式與典範，使我國民間造船工業與海軍建立密切依存關 係，並成為海軍後勤力量的支柱。
高廣圻也期許海軍參與的全體同仁，能夠利用此次機會，多向台船公司與中科院(CSIST)探討造艦專案管理 知識，並與以往獲得的經驗進行驗證，精益求精，特別是在能量建立與傳承上，向下紮根，奠定海軍未來長久造艦 專案的管理與監造能量基礎。
典禮結束後，高廣圻及台船公司董事長鄭文隆則登艦巡視參觀，瞭解該型艇相關性能諸元與優異戰力，並在飛彈快 艇前合影留念。