Sub purchase put on back burner

The question of Taiwan purchasing US-supplied diesel submarines apparently has been put on the back burner as a result of the high costs of the vessels and difficulties in getting a country to supply the technology and build the submarines, Taiwanese legislators visiting Washington have disclosed.

The delay, apparently a result of a mutual understanding between Taiwan and the Pentagon, came to light following a meeting the Legislative Yuan members held at the Pentagon on Tuesday.

The lawmakers, headed by Legislative Yuan speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and consisting mainly of members of the National Defense Committee, met with senior US defense officials at the Pentagon, including Assistant Defense Secretary for International Security Affairs Peter Rodman and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless.

During the meeting "the American officials did not mention anything about submarines," said PFP Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方).

"They did mention the priorities in terms of the weapons systems Taiwan should purchase. Submarines were not one of the three priorities," he said at a press conference after the Pentagon meeting.

The US action apparently responds to a reported decision by Taiwanese authorities to defer planning for purchasing the subs.

"It is not so easy to acquire submarines," Lin said.

He cited the high costs and the difficulties in finding a country that is willing to build the subs and deliver them to Taiwan.

US George W. Bush agreed in April 2001 to sell Taipei up to eight diesel submarines, even though the US had not produced such vessels for 50 years.

Questions the sale were raised immediately, and the Bush administration engaged in an extensive search to find sources who could design and build the vessels.

Traditional obvious suppliers such as Germany and the Netherlands rejected any sales by their shipyards, and US shipyards were not prepared to build the subs on their own.

Nevertheless, Washington, under pressure from US defense contractors who expected to profit handsomely from the sale and associated work, kept trying to put together a deal, while Taipei continued to balk at the price and the budget implications.

If the US government has given up the push to get funding and international support for Taiwan, the impetus for the sale will wane.

"The government is well aware that without US government support, Taiwan will never be able to obtain submarines," Lin said.

"The ROC government cannot decide where and when to get the subs. It has to depend on the US government," he said.

The other priorities on the Pentagon's US weapons shopping list for Taiwan include the PAC-3 anti-missile defense system, advanced long-range early-warning radar and so-called C4ISR capabilities, which include command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

This does not mean that the submarine sale is dead, TSU Legislator Ho min-hao (何敏豪) said.

"Taiwan is very confused, the US is very confused and there is no consensus," he said. "So we need to find an alternative."

The legislators indicated that the possibility of a shipyard in Spain building the submarines was not raised during the meeting nor at another meeting at the Brookings Institution, which was attended by defense contractor lobbyists.