A few days ago, I attended a tour held by the Ministry of National Defense at the Tsoying naval base.
There was an exhibition of the US-made Sea Lion-class submarine, which has been in commission for more than 60 years. The sub was so obsolete that I was thinking that I would sink and never rise to the surface if I were to take it to sea.
For security reasons the military only displayed the facilities and equipment, rather than showing the submarine in action. This brought home the fact that the officers and soldiers serving on this sub are risking their lives to safeguard the country. Does our country treat them fairly?
Now I can understand why the armed forces are pushing for the arms-procurement package: to speed up the transformation of military capabilities.
Furthermore, a tragic submarine accident may result in many broken families. I believe that nobody is willing to send their children to serve in such an insecure environment.
How long will we keep obstructing the special arms budget?
Tai Yu
Taichung
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