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TWO KIDD-CLASS DESTROYERS RETURN TO TAIWAN

ROC Central News Agency

2006-10-25 23:25:50

    Taipei, Oct. 25 (CNA) The last two of the four Kidd-class destroyers procured from the United States returned to Taiwan Wednesday after a 52-day voyage across the Pacific Ocean.

    The newly acquired destroyers, christened the "Makung" and the "Tsoyin, " arrived in the evening at Suao naval base in northeastern Yilan County to the warm welcome of more than 1,000 family members of the 400-plus naval officers and enlisted men aboard the two warships.

    Addressing a welcome ceremony, Navy General Commander Adm. Lin Chen-yi said all personnel aboard the two destroyers have taken part in the vessels' demothballing and received rigorous training in equipment maintenance and weaponry systems operations during their nearly two-year stay at a shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina.

    Lin praised all military personnel aboard the two warships for their perseverance and fortitude in withstanding tough demothballing work, training and a comprehensive series of stringent shell and missile test-firing before heading for home in early September.

    The two destroyers departed from the United States Sept. 3 and made logistics stops at U.S. naval bases in Hawaii and Guam.

    The two warships are scheduled to be commissioned into service at a grand ceremony scheduled for Nov. 2, Lin said, adding that the two destroyers' commissioning will contribute toward the enhancement of Taiwan's defense capability.

    Taiwan struck a deal with the United States in 2003 on procuring the four Kidd-class destroyers at a cost of NT$24 billion. The ships were built in the late 1970s for Iran, but later mothballed after the deal was canceled aimd souring U.S.-Iran ties.

    Taiwan accepted delivery of two of the four vessels -- the Keelung and the Suao -- last December.

    Naval officials said the Kidd-class destroyers, armed with advanced missiles and three-dimensional radar, possess superb air-defense, anti-submarine and battlefield management capabilities.

(By Sofia Wu)

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