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Time expiring on arms deal: congressman

"While the current quote for the eight diesel submarines is US$12 billion, industry and outside experts tell me a more accurate figure falls around US$8 billion."

Rob Simmons, US congressman

Time is running out for Taiwan to buy the package of three advanced weapons systems from the US, a US Congressman warned yesterday.

"This administration is clear on the arms sale. But in three years the policy could change, because the administration will leave at the end of 2008, and we do not know the next administration's position on the arms sales to Taiwan," US Representative Rob Simmons, a Connecticut Republican, said in a speech at the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei yesterday.

Military sales take time, which means that time is running out for Taiwan to complete the transaction, he said.

Simmons suggested that the US and Taiwanese governments re-evaluate the cost of the submarines included in the package, and that the price of the submarines could be lowered.

Because opinion in Taiwan is divided on the acquisition of new submarines, with different political camps arguing over their price and design, Simmons said that officials from Taiwan and the US should sit down to discuss the issue.

"While the current quote for the eight diesel submarines is US$12 billion, industry and outside experts tell me a more accurate figure falls around US$8 billion," Simmons said.

He added that the US government needs to make the military sales process more transparent, "because the Taiwan government deserves to know in detail what its taxpayers are getting for US$8 billion."

The Ministry of National Defense has said that the submarine budget had been set up by the US Navy through an independent cost estimate (ICE) system in January 2003, and that the US Navy has refused to negotiate on the budget before the submarine purchase has been approved.

Simmons said a sensible way of solving the problem would be to separate the cost of submarine design as an advance purchase, which would give a more accurate picture of the exact cost of the overall program.

Simmons, whose district is home to General Dynamics' Electric Boat Corp, a shipbuilding firm that focuses on submarines, said that Electric Boat had declared itself capable and willing to produce a series of diesel submarines for Taiwan.

When asked for comments on media reports that the US Navy is not cooperating with Taiwan's purchase plans, Simmons said: "I heard that US naval officers might fear that if an American shipyard did begin building diesel-powered submarines for Taiwan or any other countries, the production of more capable nuclear subs would come to a halt once Congress saw that diesel subs are cheaper, and they are afraid of that."

Simmons said that he does not share this concern, because a diesel-powered submarine fleet would be unable to replace the US' strategic submarine fleet.

He said that Taiwan should recognize the threat from China as real and growing.

"On Capital Hill, Congress is especially concerned that China is focusing its military modernization efforts on weapons systems that are ideal for attacking Taiwan and for denying access to the US forces in the event of a crisis," he added.

Meanwhile, during a meeting with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday morning at Taipei City Hall, Simmons called on Ma to support the arms procurement budget.

But Ma, who has repeatedly said that the KMT will only support a "reasonable budget bill" with no timetable for passing it, later denied that he had faced any pressure from the US.

"The US' position on the issue is clear. It has never forced us to buy any weapons, and hopes that we have the determination and power to defend ourselves," Ma said after the meeting.

Ma declined to comment further on what he discussed with the US congressman during a meeting behind closed doors later yesterday.

Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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