President Ma Ying-jeou is calling on the military to develop more equipment for rescue purposes. He was speaking Monday during an inspection tour of the military’s Armaments Bureau.
Ma said rescue missions became one of the ROC army’s central focuses after Typhoon Morakot. The 2009 typhoon caused severe flooding in multiple counties in Taiwan and killed almost 700 people.
Taiwan’s military uses a lot of equipment from the United States. But Ma said the military should develop its own.
“During Typhoon Morakot, we used AAV7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles [for rescue missions]," he said. "They were effective but cost too much. I have been wondering if it is possible to develop our own equipment. They don’t need to be built exclusively for combat purposes. They should also work for rescue missions.”
During his tour on Monday, Ma also saw research prototypes for a special assault rifle and a multi-purpose shovel. The president said he was impressed by the military’s research and development capabilities. He also said that back when he was in the military, he would not have dreamed of having knee pads and elbow pads that are as advanced as the ones used today.