Arms Procurement Project: Taiwan in Dispute with US over Handling of Balance

Arms Procurement Project: Taiwan in Dispute with US over Handling of Balance

Source: UDN

July 27, 2020

The Army will close the procurement of 30 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, dubbed the Sky Eagle project, in the coming months. Based on calculations made by both Taiwan and the US, the balance of the project totaled a couple billion NT dollars in Taiwan’s favor. The Army notified the US that the balance would have to be returned to the national coffers, asking the US to refund the balance. However, it is reported that the US Army used the American Institute in Taiwan to demand that the Army not to ask the return of the balance to the ROC national coffers, hoping that the balance could be fully consumed by extending existing technological assistance provided by the US technological representatives in Taiwan.

In response, the Army indicated that if it had to work hard for any change of the use of the balance, it would like to invite US instructors on active duty with actual combat experience to Taiwan to teach courses in advanced tactics or joint operations, adding that it would then ask for permission from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the National Security Council to use the funds in the balance. As Taiwan and the US could not reach an agreement on how to use the balance, the Army bore tremendous pressures.

According to the United Daily News, in addition, a retired vice admiral claimed that nine years ago, because he insisted that the balance of arms procurement projects had to be returned to the national coffers pursuant to regulations in order to close the projects, this impacted the interest of the US arms sales system, adding that thus, he was called in for an interview overseas by the then deputy director of the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The retired vice admiral also indicated that the MND ordered him to travel overseas to meet with the US general.

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