While Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lee Wen-chung (
Lee and Lin were invited to CTS yesterday for a televised debate. CNA news wire journalist Luo Kuang-jen (
Taiwan is planning to spend NT$610.8 billion (US$18 billion) over the next 15 years to purchase diesel submarines, P-3C maritime patrol aircraft and Patriot anti-missile systems from the US.
Since Lee and Lin are the two most vocal lawmakers on the legislature's National Defense Committee, they have been seen as the two unofficial spokesmen for and against the plan.
While Lee yesterday appealed to the public for a strong national defense, Lin argued that the US was trying to rip Taiwan off -- but said he did not in principle oppose the arms deal.
The two mainly argued about the cost of the submarines. Lee said that there was the potential to bring down the submarine budget by NT$100 billion, but Lin countered by saying NT$200 billion was merely a conservative estimate.
Lin opened his argument by saying that the cost was too high, saying that the next generation will be burdened by the purchase.
"The US has told us that we only have to spend NT$36 billion more if we try to assemble the submarines locally, but the Ministry of National Defense told us that it would cost NT$72 billion more," Lin said.
"There is also the issue of the Patriot anti-missile system. We have been demanding the Patriot system's performance information from the US, but they have refused to give it to us. How can we buy the system before we know how well it works?" Lin said.
But Lee countered by saying all the purchases were necessary to maintain the military balance of power between Taiwan and China.
"If we want to avoid war, we need a strong national defense to ensure that," Lee said in his opening speech.
"If the US is willing to defend Taiwan, why aren't the Taiwanese?" Lee asked.
Lin then pointed out that the if China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC) should assemble the submarines locally, which would save NT$180 billion. If the submarines were assembled overseas, the budget could be cut ny NT$190 billion.
Lin was quoting figures provided by a German submarine expert who was invited to make a cost evaluation.
"If we want to assemble the submarines locally, the CSBC only needs to spend US$11 billion to improve its equipment," Lin said.
But Lee rebuked Lin's statement, saying that the information provided by the CSBC was unreliable. He said the CSBC gave him completely different numbers.
Although Lin scolded the US for refusing to provide comprehensive information for Patriot anti-missile system, he also invoked US Secretary of the State Colin Powell's recent remarks to berate the governing party.
"Aside from military power, we can seek to resolve the disputes between Taiwan and China through diplomacy. We can try to restart negotiations with China under the principle of "one China," with each side having its own interpretation," Lin said.
"When a small power tries to fight a big power, it needs intervention form a third party. But the DPP government has been lousy with diplomacy. That is why the DPP administration was admonished by Powell," Lin said.
But Lee again said that the pan-blue camp's objection to the deal was in essence bowing to Beijing's demands, and he demanded the pan-blue camp to explain this position.
In response, Lin said that there was no reason why Taiwan should participate in an arms race with China. He also said that the former USSR collapsed after attempting to match the military expansion of the US.
"If Taiwan continues to expand its military to keep up with China, it may end up like the USSR," Lin said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS