Taiwan Releases New Indigenous Weapons Systems

Taiwan just unveiled the latest addition to its self-made weapon systems. This comes ahead of a formal special budget for weapons procurement.

Transcript

00:00Higher mobility, stronger firepower.

00:03Taiwan has upgraded its domestically-made tank

00:06in response to a growing need for self-defense capabilities.

00:10This wheeled tank is armed with a 10.5-centimeter rifle gun

00:14with an effective range of over 2,000 meters.

00:17And it has the ability to penetrate 50 centimeters of armor.

00:22With an electric control system built into its turrets,

00:25the tank's accuracy has significantly improved.

00:30In addition to the upgraded tank,

00:46Taiwan's Defense Ministry is also unveiling

00:49other homegrown weapons and equipment,

00:52including a new drone system, reconnaissance vehicles,

00:55vehicle mounted missile systems, camouflage uniforms,

00:58and an automated gun barrel production line.

01:02Analysts say Taiwan is showing its commitment

01:04to producing weapons on its own.

01:06Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Friday reported several Chinese military aircraft and vessels operating near the country,

01:10serving as constant pressure from China.

01:15Taiwan's Defense Ministry on Friday reported several Chinese military aircraft and vessels operating near the country,

01:35serving as constant pressure from China.

01:38Analysts say Taiwan must win legislative majority support

01:41to speed up its indigenous weapons production,

01:45all in efforts to boost its self-defense capabilities.

01:48Taiwan has rapidly expanded its weapons backlog in recent years.

02:08Besides domestically produced weapons,

02:10Taiwan reportedly aims to propose a special procurement budget of over 20 billion U.S. dollars.

02:16These efforts are all aimed at better protecting the country,

02:20as President Lai Qingde seeks to raise the defense budget to 3 percent of GDP next year.

02:26Yi Sun Chen and Alan Liu for Taiwan Plus.