The US fears Taipei may delay or cancel the purchase of early-warning radars because of budget restrictions and has sent a delegation to Taiwan to look into the matter, sources have told the Liberty Times and Taipei Times.
According to the sources, officials in the George W. Bush administration say the cancellation of the purchase could have serious consequences for Taiwan's defense.
The early-warning radars are key to the nation's strategic plans for the building of a missile defense system to counter a potential missile attack from China.
A delegation headed by Richard D'Amato, chairman of the US-China Security Review Commission -- which reports to the US House of Representatives -- left for Taipei on Tuesday morning on an urgent trip to review Taiwan's military procurement policies.
The delegation is scheduled to hear a secret briefing by Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (
D'Amato and his team are set to meet with several high-ranking officials, including President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂) and DPP legislator and foreign affairs expert Parris Chang (張旭成).
Members of D'Amato's delegation include June Dreyer, a professor of political science at the University of Miami, former US assistant secretary of commerce Pat Mulloy and Andy Semmel, the commission's executive director.
In June, the commission filed a classified report to Congress on China's threat against US national security and gave suggestions on weapons sales to Taiwan.
Former US president Bill Clinton agreed to sell long-range early-warning radars to Taiwan in April 1999. The decision was viewed as a major breakthrough at the time, because the radars are an important part in the building of a missile defense system.
Worried about a backlash from China, the US government agreed to the radar sales only after fierce internal debate.
Taiwan first requested the radars in 1998. The radars, based on similar existing systems in the US, would give Taiwan four to 10 minutes of early-warning time before a missile attack.
After the Clinton administration agreed to the sale, Taiwan's defense ministry began to contact Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, manufacturers of the radar systems.
The pricing and models of the radars have not been determined because the systems need to be designed according to Taiwan's needs.
Liaison office closed
In the process of discussion, US officials began to suspect that Taiwan intended to postpone the purchase until 2004 or 2005, or even cancel the purchase altogether.
The US saw the closing of a Boston liaison office for the deal by the defense ministry in November as further evidence the government might be reversing its decision on the purchase.
Taiwanese officials have not denied that Taiwan intends to delay or possibly cancel the purchase. They said that after reviewing military procurement policies from the KMT era, the new government believes that strengthening military software construction and integrating the nation's existing weapons systems should be its top priorities.
Differing opinions persist within the Taiwanese defense establishment about buying the massive early-warning radars.
Army Vice Commander-in-Chief Ho Shou-yeh (霍守業) reportedly wanted to request that the purchase be delayed or canceled during his visit mid-December visit to Washington for security talks, but Ho decided not to take action after considering the US' attitude on the matter.
Military officials confirm budget woes
Military officials confirmed yesterday that budget constraints may prevent the radar purchase. The same sources also said that the military has put on hold its plan to buy the Patriot PAC-III air-defense missile system because funding isn't available.
Both systems are major components of a planned missile defense shield for Taiwan, which could then be linked with the Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system to be constructed by the US for its allies in East Asia.
A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military authorities responsible for weapons procurement have not performed a mandatory first-stage evaluation of the system.
The procurement of new weapons systems requires a three-stage evaluation. If the system under consideration fails any stage, it won't be purchased.
"Budgetary constraint is certainly one of the main reasons hindering the passage of the first-stage evaluation of the long-range radar purchase plan," the official said.
"We have other concerns as well. We have yet to find out whether we really need such a powerful and expensive system for the construction of a missile defense shield to guard against attack by China," the official said.
"We should have alternative options. Taiwan is not as rich as it once was. We cannot afford to make any more mistakes on arms purchases," he said.
He denied that the possible postponement of the radar system purchase is politically motivated.
"It makes sense for the US to suspect that the postponement might signal a change in the government's policy toward China. If you look at Taiwan's every move under a magnifying glass, it would be easy to think like this," he said.
Powerful commission
The US-China Security Commission was created by the National Defense Authorization Act, which became US law on Oct. 30, 2000.
The commission has massive financial power and influence -- enough to direct the security policies of the US Congress regarding China and Taiwan.
Whether China was acquiring cutting-edge defense and missile technologies from the US through commercial and espionage activities was a hot topic before Clinton stepped down. At the time, Republican House representative Christopher Cox organized a committee to investigate the issue and release a report. The US-China Security Review Commission is what emerged after that investigation.
The commission submits a classified report to Congress every June which analyzes the influence of US-China bilateral trade and economic activities on US national security. The commission also makes concrete suggestions to Congress and the US president on China policy.
The commission not only monitors US-China security issues, but is also influential in US-Taiwan security issues and weapons sales.
The commission can recommend candidates to the administration for the director's post at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). It can also object to the administration's choices for the post, even though the appointment needs no congressional approval.
Some conservative members on the commission once opposed the appointment of Douglas Paal as AIT director because Paal had opposed the sales of advanced military hardware to Taiwan in the past. The objection delayed Paal's appointment at the state department for a long period of time.
Translated by Francis Huang
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