M1A2 battle tank procurement deal progressing: source
ROC Central News Agency
2019/04/08 17:07:33
Taipei, April 8 (CNA) Taiwan's request to purchase 108 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks from the United States is progressing and has not been shelved, a military source said Monday.
It remains unclear, however, when the U.S. government will approve the arms sale, according to the source.
The source, who requested anonymity because the individual was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, was responding to speculations that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has put arms sales to Taiwan on hold until the U.S. seals a trade deal with China.
Currently, the Republic of China (Taiwan) Armed Forces have more than 1,000 battle tanks, mostly aging M60A3 and CM-11 models.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) is planning to allocate NT$30 billion (US$972.21 million) in defense spending this year to procure 108 M1A2 Abrams battle tanks.
The military is also likely to seek to procure U.S.-made precision ammunition for the tanks.
If the U.S. agrees to the M1A2 Abrams sale, the 108 battle tanks will all be assigned to the Sixth Army Corps, which is responsible for the security of northern Taiwan, where most of the central government agencies are located.
Approved for production in 1990, the M1A2 represents the U.S. Army's technological improvement on the basic M1A1 design and is currently the most modern battle tank in the world.
The M1A2X is believed to be a special configuration variant of the M1A2C, which reportedly is being offered for sale to Taiwan.
The MND is planning to acquire the MIA2X tanks to replace some of the M60A3 Patton and CM-11 Brave Tiger tanks currently in service in Taiwan.
(By Matt Yu, Joseph Yeh and Evelyn Kao)
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