April 18, 2014

Washington agrees to help Taiwan build attack submarines




The United States has agreed to help Taiwan build attack submarines, as the island has spent nearly a decade waiting to acquire them from abroad, the Taiwanese defense chief said Monday.

Minister of National Defense Yen Ming told a legislative committee that the United States "is willing to help us build the submarines together."Yen also said Taiwan will continue to push the United States to sell eight submarines to Taiwan and to acquire submarines from other countries.In 2001 the United States agreed to sell eight submarines to Taiwan but it no longer builds non-nuclear-powered subs. And countries capable of building conventional submarines hesitate to provide them to Taiwan, fearing political consequences from China.

Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since they split amid a civil war in 1949. Beijing has vowed to use military force if Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province, formally declares independence.Taiwan currently has two Dutch-built diesel submarines acquired in the 1980s and at least two World War II-vintage submarines for training.

The Democratic Progressive Party, which ruled the island between 2000 and 2008, approved a plan in 2003 allowing Taiwanese shipbuilders to construct some of the eight submarines. But the plan fell through due to opposition of the Nationalist Party (KMT).The DPP proposed last month a two-stage program to build eight submarines domestically, estimated at NT$400 billion (about US$13 billion).

Meanwhile, while the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill authorizing the sale of four decommissioned guided missile frigates to Taiwan, Yen said Taiwan needs only two to replace older warships.Critics question the necessity of acquiring the decommissioned frigates, saying the 29-year-old warships are expensive to maintain and the Taiwan navy should build warships and missiles of its own.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/kyodo-news-international/140414/washington-agrees-help-taiwan-build-attack-submarines

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