A senior executive at Germany's biggest shipbuilder said in an interview yesterday he thinks Taiwan will be able to buy military submarines from his company, suggesting it can get around German export restrictions and Chinese diplomatic pressure thanks to a recent ownership change.
The reported comments by Hannfried Haun, deputy CEO of HDW, were the first time a foreign shipbuilder has publicly expressed confidence it could close a deal worth an estimated NT$210 billion (US$6 billion). French and Dutch companies are also reportedly interested.
In an interview published in a local Chinese-language newspaper, Haun responded affirmatively when asked if he thought ``at this point in time'' that Taiwan would end up getting submarines from HDW.
China opposes the deal and has put tremendous diplomatic pressure on Germany and other European countries whose companies have shown interest in the project.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has said he has no intention of allowing the sale of German submarines to Taiwan, reaffirming Berlin's "one-China."
But earlier this week, a US investment group took full control of HDW, and a Taiwanese daily quoted Haun as suggesting that the ownership change could help the shipbuilder pull off the deal despite German export restrictions.
As a US-owned company, HDW would be acting only as a supplier in a deal that is being brokered by the US government, he said.
The US promised to sell Taiwan eight diesel-electric submarines last year but needs to give the job to a foreign shipyard because US companies no longer build non-nuclear-powered submarines.
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