Tue, Dec 05, 2000 page3

• Kidds wouldn't replace AEGIS: military

  DEFENSE Military officials say Kidd-class destroyers would provide an inexpensive interim missile defense measure until Taiwan can obtain AEGIS-equipped destroyers

  • By Nadia Tsao / STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
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  After six months of extensive discussion, Taiwan has yet to formally request the sale of four Kidd-class destroyers, US officials said yesterday.

  But even if Taiwan did make the request, US officials emphasized that they would not consider the sale of the Kidd destroyers as a substitute for AEGIS-equipped destroyers.

  The AEGIS system allows a ship to simultaneously track more than 100 approaching targets. It has long been touted as the best solution for Taiwan's need for a missile umbrella to defend itself from possible attack from China.

  What the Kidd destroyer sale could represent though, is an interim arrangement to enhance Taiwan's air defense capabilities before it incorporates AEGIS into its defense network.

  Sources said that the Kidd-class destroyers have radar and command and control systems that are at least one generation ahead of anything Taiwan has in its inventory. Taiwan's existing air defense systems on their Knox, PFG-2, and Lafayette frigates are extremely limited.

  Destroyers would double missile defense

  The Kidd-class destroyers, which would in effect double Taiwan's maritime air defense capabilities, could be fielded within two years.

  According to a US official, AEGIS-equipped destroyers, if approved next year, would not enter Taiwan's inventory until 2008 at the earliest. Therefore, the Kidd-class destroyers could provide a relatively inexpensive interim air defense capability until the first AEGIS-equipped destroyer is fielded between 2008 and 2010.

  The US Navy recently dispatched a team to brief the Ministry of National Defense in Taiwan last month and Taiwan is currently conducting a detailed study of the Kidd-class destroyers, a US officials said.

  However, Taiwan remains cautious about the possible deal, worrying that Beijing and some officials in the US government who oppose the sale of AEGIS destroyers would consolidate their position once Taiwan gets the Kidd-class warships.

  "Navy chief Admiral Li Chieh (李傑) has already made it clear that Taiwan would not consider the Kidd-class vessels as a substitute to AEGIS," an individual familiar with the deal told the Taipei Times.

  A Clinton official also agreed, saying that "we would not consider the Kidds to be a substitute for AEGIS destroyers."

  Officials were responding yesterday to a recent report by London-based Jane's Defence Weekly, which said that Taiwan plans to lease and buy four decommissioned Kidd-class destroyers from the US as an alternative to the much sought-after AEGIS-equipped destroyers.

  Taiwan still sees AEGIS-equipped destroyers as a strategic weapon which could help reshape the regional balance of power.

  Military analysts in Washington agreed that purchasing the Kidd-class destroyers would be the right step, but added that Taiwan would still lack missile defense capabilities.

  Analysts also said that people in Taiwan still need to understand that the capabilities of a sea-based lower tier Theater Missile Defense (TMD) system based on the AEGIS combat system are very limited because of Taiwan's defense situation.

  The US Department of Defense report titled "TMD Architecture Options" in the Asia-Pacific Region issued in February last year discounted AEGIS as a viable option for lower-tier missile defense.

  US officials reiterated this in the public version of the report, which stated that Taiwan would need 11 AEGIS-equipped destroyers -- at a price tag of about US$1 billion -- to provide lower-tier coverage of most, but not all, of the island.

  It also noted that using AEGIS destroyers for missile defense would take the four ships away from where they would be needed most -- protecting the fleet from PLA fighters and bombers seeking to annihilate Taiwan's navy at sea.

  "The AEGIS combat system is a very capable air defense command and control system and most people support AEGIS as a long-term program for air defense, with Kidds as a short- to mid-term solution," a US official said. "The US government is not considering the release of AEGIS as a missile defense system due to the inherent limitations."

  Effectiveness of AEGIS exaggerated

  The usefulness of the AEGIS combat system as a lower-tier TMD system in the Taiwan context has been greatly exaggerated, mostly due to uninformed political posturing in Taipei and Beijing, officials noted.

  Based on Taiwan's unique geographical situation and nature of the PLA threat, most US government observers recognize that land-based TMD systems such as the PAC-3 are a more cost-effective approach to missile defense.
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