First two Kidd class destroyers leave US for delivery to Taiwan

This article was written by Rita Fang and published by the Taiwan Journal on November 4, 2005. It reports that two of four Kidd class destroyers, which were purchased from the United States in 2001, are scheduled to arrive in Taiwan in early December. The two ships, each with a crew of 600 Taiwanese sailors, are heading for northern Taiwan's Keelung and Suao ports.

A handover ceremony was recently held in South Carolina in the United States. At the ceremony, the U.S. representative stressed that the United States opposes any unilateral actions that will change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. Although U.S. policy is clear that it does not support Taiwan's independence, the United States is committed to helping Taiwan and China in achieving a peaceful solution to the cross-strait dispute.

The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act allows the United States to sell defensive weapons to Taiwan. This article provides good details on the strengths of the Kidd class destroyers and how the United States and Taiwan have been preparing for the delivery of these two ships. Nearly 1,000 Taiwanese seamen underwent training in the United States in order to be ready to crew the ships. The training is arguably the biggest military cooperative venture between Taiwan and the United States since the severance of their formal diplomatic ties in 1979.

The other two Kidd class destroyers are scheduled to be transferred to Taiwanese ownership in 2006 and will be heading for southern Taiwan's Zuoying and Magong ports.