TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has signed a NT$3.41 billion (US$110.7 million) contract with the United States to procure parts for ships, reports said Friday (Dec. 16).
The parts covered by the deal should all be supplied within the next two years in order to maintain the Navy ships’ combat capabilities, the Liberty Times reported. The Ministry of National Defense’s mission in the U.S. signed the contract with representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
At least three to four, sometimes seven or eight, Chinese military ships appear each day near Taiwanese waters to collect intelligence and probe its defenses, according to military sources consulted by the Liberty Times. The incursions occur most frequently in waters to the southwest and southeast of Taiwan, and in the Taiwan Strait between the two countries.
Each time a Chinese vessel is spotted, the Taiwan Navy sends out a ship to monitor its activities, meaning there is an urgent need for replacement parts, the military said. The Navy has adjusted its policies, ordering the immediate repair of problems as they are found, and having ships refueled to keep them ready to go out on a mission as soon as possible.
The deal for Navy ships parts, which had been under preparation since June, came as the U.S. Senate approved a defense package worth US$10 billion for Taiwan.