Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
October 2005 Taiwan Special Weapons News
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- TAIWAN RECEIVES NEW DESTROYERS FROM US CNA 30 Oct 2005 -- In a ceremony presided over by R.O.C. Navy chief Adm. Chen Pang-chih Saturday, two US-made Kidd-class destroyers were handed over to Taiwan and made ready to head to their new home base.
- SWITZERLAND TO OFFER TAIWAN JUDICIAL AID IN LAFAYETTE SCANDAL PROBES CNA 28 Oct 2005 -- The Swiss Federal Commission approved Thursday the handover of bank files to foreign judicial authorities concerning the controversial sale of French warships to Taiwan.
- NEXT STAGE IN LAFAYETTE SCANDAL PROBE 'A TOUGHER CHALLENGE': ROC ENVOY CNA 28 Oct 2005 -- Taiwan's top envoy in Berne said Thursday that he sees the next stage of retrieving the money payed out as kickbacks in the scandal surrounding the sale of French Lafayette frigates to Taiwan and of implementing the legal assistance offered by Swiss authorities to the island as "a tougher challenge."
- F-16 JET FIGHTERS' COMBAT CAPABILITY UNDER QUESTION CNA 28 Oct 2005 -- The combat capability of the Republic of China Air Force's F-16 jet fighters came under question Friday after it was revealed that two F-16s sent to sink an overturned cargo ship carrying a load of toxic chemicals off Hsinchu Thursday fired four laser-guided missiles but failed to accomplish their mission.
- U.S. TO CONTINUE TRAINING TAIWAN PILOTS: PENTAGON CNA 27 Oct 2005 -- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the U.S. Defense Department announced Wednesday that it has notified Congress of the continuation of a training program for F-16 fighter pilots from Taiwan.
- US Arms Package for Taiwan Remains in Limbo VOA 27 Oct 2005 -- A political logjam in Taiwan is delaying a decision on the purchase of an $11 billion package of weaponry offered by the United States.
- TWO PURCHASED KIDD-CLASS DESTROYERS TO ARRIVE IN TAIWAN IN DECEMBER CNA 25 Oct 2005 -- Two of the four Kidd-class destroyers Taiwan has purchased from the United States are expected to arrive in the country in December and to be commissioned at Suao, Ilan in northeastern Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman said Tuesday.
- TAIWAN URGED TO PLAY ACTIVE ROLE IN U.S.-JAPAN SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS CNA 23 Oct 2005 -- Taiwan should play a more proactive role in the U.S.-Japan security arrangements in the Asia-Pacific region, a researcher with the private policy research institute Taiwan Thinktank said Sunday.
- U.S. STANCE OF OPPOSING TAIWAN NAME CHANGE REMAINS SAME: STATE DEP'T CNA 21 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. State Department on Thursday reiterated that its policy of opposing a change to Taiwan's official name remains unaltered.
- CHEN URGES EARLY REVIEW OF ARMS PROCUREMENT FOR SAKE OF THE NATION CNA 20 Oct 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian on Thursday urged the Legislative Yuan to review the arms procurement package as soon as possible, saying that continued boycotting of the package by the opposition will put the future of Taiwan in jeopardy.
- MND VOWS TO EXPAND MILITARY EXCHANGES WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES CNA 20 Oct 2005 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will strive to forge military cooperation and exchanges with neighboring countries through official or non-official channels, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye said Wednesday.
- SPY AGENCIES DENY PROVIDING 'SOONG-CHEN MEETING' INFO TO PRESIDENT CNA 20 Oct 2005 -- Eight intelligence agencies denied Thursday that they had provided any information about the alleged secret meeting between People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong and Chinese official Chen Yunlin in the United States to President Chen Shui-bian.
- ONE DEAD, TWO MISSING IN ANTI-SUBMARINE HELICOPTER CRASH CNA 19 Oct 2005 -- An ROC Navy anti-submarine S-70C helicopter with three crew members aboard crashed into waters off the Tsoying naval base in southern Taiwan Wednesday, killing one officer and leaving the other two missing, military authorities said.
- IRREGULARITIES IN NAVY BOATS CONTRACT WILL BE INVESTIGATED: MND CNA 19 Oct 2005 -- If any irregularities are found to have taken place in the bidding for 30 missile-equipped ROC Navy speedboats, the defense ministry will refer the case to prosecutors, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye told lawmakers Wednesday.
- CHEN PANS OPPOSITION PARTIES OVER ARMS PROCUREMENT BOYCOTT CNA 18 Oct 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian slammed two major opposition parties Monday for their obstinate opposition to his administration's plan to procure a robust package of weapons from the United States.
- OPPOSITION LAWMAKERS ALLEGE POLITICAL INTERFERENCE BY MILITARY CNA 17 Oct 2005 -- Several opposition lawmakers on Monday asked the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to investigate a high-ranking military official's remarks that apparently violated the military's stance of remaining politically neutral over the arms purchase plan.
- MILITARY PLEDGES TO CONTINUE TO DISPOSE OF OUTDATED AMMO IN KINMEN CNA 15 Oct 2005 -- The military will continue to dispose of outdated ammunition, land mines and vacant barracks on Kinmen to help boost development and tourism on the frontline island, a military official said Saturday.
- COAST GUARD HAS NO INTENTION OF BECOMING DEFENSE FORCE: CGA CNA 13 Oct 2005 -- Taiwan's coast guard has no intention of becoming a " second naval force" during wartime nor is such a move supported by law, regardless of what a lawmaker might think, ROC Coast Guard Administration (CGA) authorities said Thursday.
- PFP MAKES VEILED THREAT TO KMT OVER STANCE ON ARMS BILL CNA 12 Oct 2005 -- The opposition People First Party (PFP) renewed a thinly veiled threat Wednesday that if its ally, the Kuomintang (KMT) , relents in its opposition to the arms procurement bill, it will not get the PFP's help in blocking the party assets bill in the legislature aimed at depriving the KMT of its "improperly obtained" assets.
- U.S.-TAIWAN CROSS-STRAIT WAR SIMULATION POSTPONED TO EARLY NEXT YEAR CNA 11 Oct 2005 -- A Ministry of National Defense official said Tuesday that the United States has postponed an annual computer-assisted war simulation with Taiwan because of a recent personnel change at the Pentagon's strategic planning department.
- OPPOSITION MILITARY FINANCE PLAN WOULD SET BACK MILITARY 10 YEARS: MND CNA 11 Oct 2005 -- The ROC military's development will be set back 10 years if the opposition has its way and lumps all items in the U.S. defense purchase into the ministry's regular budget, the defense ministry said Tuesday.
- Taiwan's Legislature Fights Over Opposition Bill VOA 11 Oct 2005 -- A scuffle broke out in Taiwan's parliament, with lawmakers exchanging punches because of disagreement over a bill put forward by the opposition.
- PRESIDENT WARNS OF DANGERS OF LACK OF SELF-DEFENSE RESOLVE CNA 10 Oct 2005 -- A lack of self-defense determination is the biggest threat to Taiwan's security, and the inactivity of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) is a result of caving in to pressure from another political party, President Chen Shui-bian said Monday.
- Taiwan President's Popularity Sinks to New Low VOA 09 Oct 2005 -- A newspaper poll in Taiwan shows President Chen Shui-bian's popularity sinking to a record low.
- PENTAGON'S POLICY TOWARD TAIWAN REMAINS UNCHANGED CNA 08 Oct 2005 -- The U.S. Department of Defense said Friday that its policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged and that the weaponry the United States plans to sell to the country are defensive rather than offensive.
- NO CONSIDERATION OF PRESIDENCY IN ARMS STANCE: KMT HEAD CNA 08 Oct 2005 -- Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou claimed Saturday that his party supports "reasonable" arms procurements and will not consider the issue from the point of view of a possible future ruling party.
- KMT LAWMAKERS DENY CHANGING POSITION ON U.S. ARMS DEAL CNA 08 Oct 2005 -- Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) legislators denied Saturday a report that the party is considering dropping its opposition to the government's controversial arms procurement package from the United States.
- CIVIC GROUP LAUNCHES ARMS PURCHASE FUND DRIVE CNA 07 Oct 2005 -- A civic group announced Friday that it will launch a fundraising drive in which it hopes to persuade 1 million people to each donate NT$100 (US$3) to help pay for the nation's arms purchases from the United States.
- PRESIDENT CHEN WARNS CHINA NOT TO MEDDLE IN TAIWAN'S POLITICS CNA 07 Oct 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian said Beijing would gain nothing by meddling in Taiwan's domestic politics and elections and doing so would not improve relations across the Taiwan Strait.
- ARMS PACKAGE TO CLEAR LEGISLATURE AFTER YEAR-END ELECTIONS: CHEN CNA 07 Oct 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian said Friday he believes that his administration's long-stalled arms procurement package can clear the legislature after the year-end "three-in-one" elections.
- PRESIDENT WILLING TO BRIEF LEGISLATURE ON ARMS PACKAGE CNA 06 Oct 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday he is willing to expound on his administration's long-stalled arms procurement package in the Legislative Yuan to win opposition support for all relevant bills.
- NO INFORMATION ON CHANGES IN U.S. ARMS DEAL: DEFENSE MINISTER CNA 05 Oct 2005 -- Defense Minister Lee Jye said Wednesday that the government has not received any information indicating that the United States might change its arms deal with Taiwan.
- RAYTHEON WILL PROVIDE SERVICE FOR SOME OF TAIWAN'S MISSILES CNA 04 Oct 2005 -- Raytheon Co. will provide full service support for the standard missile 1 (SM-1) program for U.S. allies, which will include Taiwan, the U.S. Department of Defense said Monday.
- ARMS PROCUREMENT PACKAGE BLOCKED FOR 31ST TIME IN LEGISLATURE CNA 04 Oct 2005 -- Opposition "pan-blue alliance" lawmakers of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) used their slim majority in the Legislative Yuan to block the Executive Yuan's arms procurement package from being put on the legislative agenda for the 31st time Tuesday.
- MAC HEAD LASHES OUT AT OPPOSITION-PROPOSED CROSS-STRAIT BILL CNA 03 Oct 2005 -- An opposition-proposed cross-Taiwan Strait peace promotion bill would bypass the executive arm and plunge the nation's democracy into difficulties, Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu claimed Monday.
- KMT DENIES IT WILL 'CONDITIONALLY' AGREE WITH ARMS PURCHASE BUDGET CNA 03 Oct 2005 -- The Kuomintang (KMT) legislative caucus denied a newspaper report Monday that their party will "conditionally" refer the Executive Yuan's budget bill for a U.S. arms purchase to a committee of the Legislative Yuan for review.
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