It was undoubtedly a bold and radical step on the part of Taiwan's military to allow John Pomfret, the Beijing-based correspondent for the Washington Post, inside one of its ageing submarines this past week, analysts have concluded.
What they are less certain of, however, was whether it was really all that important from the US point of view, as it didn't really give anyone a view of anything important to Taiwan's defense needs.
The submarine in question, one of two US-made Guppy-class subs which are more than 50 years old, are no longer useful for anything but training purposes. The other two in the fleet of four are more modern, but of little deterrence when considering that China has a total of 96 subs.
The military says that the move was intended to give the US the clear message that Taiwan desperately needs to bolster its defenses in the face of a widening technology gap with China.
Some analysts lauded the decision. Su Chin-chiang (
"By exposing the weakest part of its self-defense capabilities to one of the most influential newspapers in the world, the military can achieve something equivalent to inviting assistance from friendly countries," Su said.
"It is meant to be a message to other countries, especially those in our neighborhood, that Taiwan is vulnerable to attack from China and that Taiwan needs assistance from countries whose security or national interest is closely interlinked," he said.
That was one view. But Chang Li-teh (
"Eight to 12 submarines will meet Taiwan's needs. But in any case, the navy might not have enough qualified personnel to man all of them," he said.
DPP Legislator Parris Chang (張旭成) was optimistic about Taiwan's chances of buying new submarines from the US over the next few years, even though the State Department has classified them as offensive in nature, and will therefore not authorize their sale to Taiwan.
"The Pentagon specified in its annual report about Taiwan last February that submarines are a weapon Taiwan will need. It was quite an unusual move by them," Chang said.
"The move carries the message that although the US government still has the door shut against Taiwan on the issue of subs, at least the lock on the door has been taken away," he said.
Military analyst Su said he thought mini-submarines would best suit Taiwan's needs, in line with the navy's "sea-wolf" underwater warfare tactics.
"To implement `sea-wolf,' the navy will need at least six submersibles. Working in pairs, they could intercept and attack enemy subs from different directions," Su said.
RSS