U.S. to build 8 subs in deal with Taiwan
By Sharon Behn
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published September 29, 2004
The United States plans to build eight diesel-electric submarines
for Taiwan as part of an $18 billion arms package, a decision
likely to irritate China, which has opposed the sale of weapons to
Taipei.
Taiwan's new representative to the United States, David Tawei Lee,
said yesterday that the submarines would be built "probably in
Mississippi, in [former Senate Majority Leader] Trent Lott's
state."
Such a decision would end years of speculation about who would
build the submarines, which had been promised to Taiwan in
2001.
The United States no longer builds diesel submarines, and other
nations that do -- notably Germany and the Netherlands -- were not
willing to take the risk of angering China.
"The Americans will have to start from scratch," said Mr. Lee,
adding that the shipyard -- most likely Ingalls in Pascagoula --
would have to purchase the blueprints abroad.
Taiwan's legislature had been expected to vote in October to
approve the $18 billion arms purchase from the United States, but
Mr. Lee said the deal has become a guns vs. butter debate as
lawmakers gear up for legislative elections in December.
"This has become a political issue, an election issue," Mr. Lee
said at a luncheon with editors and reporters from The Washington
Times at Taiwan's Twin Oaks estate in Northwest Washington.
Mr. Lee said the vote may be put off until after the elections in
Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China.
A State Department official said yesterday that the Pentagon has
been looking for a way to "make the submarines available" to
Taiwan, but that he did not know whether a decision had been
made.
President Bush, shortly after taking office in 2001, broke away
from previous administrations and cleared the way for the sale of
the submarines as part of a larger weapons deal.
On Saturday, people took to the streets in Taiwan to protest
spending $18 billion on the arms package rather than social
projects such as education.
The package also includes anti-submarine airplanes and Patriot
anti-missile systems, as well as ships equipped with advanced
electronic battle management systems.
Taiwanese leader Chen Shui-bian said Sunday that only "by engaging
in arms buildup and preparing for war can wars be avoided," Agence
France-Presse reported.
Taiwan says the arms deal is crucial to counter a growing military
threat from China.
Mr. Lee said Taipei's government remained completely committed to
the purchase, but would consider waiting until after the elections
to bring the $18 billion budget to a vote.
"We want to ensure the package will be passed at the appropriate
time, to assure the U.S. government will not get the wrong message
from the [political] disputes in Taipei," he said.
A spokesman at the Pentagon would say only that the United States
would "continue to assist Taiwan in meeting its legitimate
self-defense needs in accordance with our obligations."
"We normally don't discuss specific details," the spokesman
said.
Brian Cullin, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, which
owns the Ingalls shipbuilding site, said his company was "keenly
interested" in obtaining contracts for the Taiwan submarine deal,
but that the matter was in the hands of the U.S. and Taiwanese
governments.
"I think it's extremely likely we would be involved, and we
certainly want to be involved," Mr. Cullin said.
"Right now, we are standing by. The government is well-aware of our
interest, and we're just awaiting a decision," he said.
The company issued a statement recently after closing a satellite
office in Taiwan that Northrop Grumman remained in the hunt for
Taiwanese contracts for submarines and surface combatant
ships.
Based in Pascagoula, Miss., 66-year-old Ingalls Shipbuilding is the
largest private employer in the state, with nearly 11,000
workers.
Harvey Feldman, who helped craft the Taiwan Relations Act and is a
senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said Northrop Grumman and
other companies could build the submarines -- but "for a
price."
"That price might be high," he added.
Mr. Feldman said he doubted the submarines would be built, and
questioned whether they were the ideal weapons for Taiwan against
other submarines.
Citing naval analysts, Mr. Feldman said it could take eight to 10
years to train an effective submarine force. A force of
anti-submarine warfare helicopters equipped with dipping sonars
would be easier and faster to deploy.
China, Mr. Feldman added, would publicly react by saying that "this
is a horror and the most heinous act the United States could
possibly do, that it threatens the entire foundation of
Sino-American relations."
But "what they would say amongst themselves might be something
quite different because they know how long it takes and how
difficult it would be to train an efficient submarine force," he
said.
