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Taipei seeks US help to build advanced submarines
Top defence official signals island wants to build its own vessels amid decade-long purchase delay
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:39am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:39am
Lawrence Chung in Taipei and Minnie Chan
Taiwan is seeking support from Washington to build its own submarines after failing to get the military hardware from either the United States or other countries.
But analysts warn the move could irritate Beijing and affect warming cross-strait relations.
At the US-Taiwan Defence Industry Conference in the United States on Monday, Chiu Kuo-cheng, the island's deputy defence minister, called on Washington to supply Taiwan with the technology and weapons it needed to defend itself, especially diesel-electric submarines and advanced fighter jets.
"[But] in addition to acquiring submarines from abroad, Taiwan is aggressively developing defensive weapons on its own and is preparing to build its own submarines," the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported Chiu as saying.
Chiu, who led a delegation to the conference, said the mainland's aggressive military build-up in the air and at sea was a serious threat to Taiwan.
Sales of submarines are a highly sensitive issue and Washington has not followed through with a 2001 deal to sell eight diesel-electric submarines over fears it could hurt mainland-US relations.
The US has said it will help Taiwan build submarines in other countries, but so far none have expressed interest in building the warships, despite the potentially lucrative contracts.
Wang Jyh-perng, a navy captain and associate research fellow at the Association for Managing Defence and Strategies, told the Central News Agency that Taiwan could best hope to realise its submarine ambitions by first building smaller vessels.
"It would be easier for Taiwan to acquire the technologies needed if it aimed at smaller targets," he was quoted by the agency as saying.
Arthur Ding Shu-fan, secretary general of the Taipei-based Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, said Chiu's comments suggested Taiwan and the US had made progress on the submarine issue.
"But the United States may only want to transfer [construction] technology to Taiwan, but not other hardware like weapons and electronic devices," he said, noting that submarines are offensive rather defensive weapons.
But Ding said that any military cooperation between Taiwan and the US would only irritate Beijing, and that would affect cross-strait relations.
Li Jie , a naval expert based in Beijing, said that except for Japan, no other countries would want to help the US pass on technology to Taiwan and risk offending the mainland.
"This would create a setback in cross-strait relations," he warned.
Top defence official signals island wants to build its own vessels amid decade-long purchase delay
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:39am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 October, 2014, 4:39am
Lawrence Chung in Taipei and Minnie Chan
Taiwan is seeking support from Washington to build its own submarines after failing to get the military hardware from either the United States or other countries.
But analysts warn the move could irritate Beijing and affect warming cross-strait relations.
At the US-Taiwan Defence Industry Conference in the United States on Monday, Chiu Kuo-cheng, the island's deputy defence minister, called on Washington to supply Taiwan with the technology and weapons it needed to defend itself, especially diesel-electric submarines and advanced fighter jets.
"[But] in addition to acquiring submarines from abroad, Taiwan is aggressively developing defensive weapons on its own and is preparing to build its own submarines," the Taipei-based Central News Agency reported Chiu as saying.
Chiu, who led a delegation to the conference, said the mainland's aggressive military build-up in the air and at sea was a serious threat to Taiwan.
Sales of submarines are a highly sensitive issue and Washington has not followed through with a 2001 deal to sell eight diesel-electric submarines over fears it could hurt mainland-US relations.
The US has said it will help Taiwan build submarines in other countries, but so far none have expressed interest in building the warships, despite the potentially lucrative contracts.
Wang Jyh-perng, a navy captain and associate research fellow at the Association for Managing Defence and Strategies, told the Central News Agency that Taiwan could best hope to realise its submarine ambitions by first building smaller vessels.
"It would be easier for Taiwan to acquire the technologies needed if it aimed at smaller targets," he was quoted by the agency as saying.
Arthur Ding Shu-fan, secretary general of the Taipei-based Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, said Chiu's comments suggested Taiwan and the US had made progress on the submarine issue.
"But the United States may only want to transfer [construction] technology to Taiwan, but not other hardware like weapons and electronic devices," he said, noting that submarines are offensive rather defensive weapons.
But Ding said that any military cooperation between Taiwan and the US would only irritate Beijing, and that would affect cross-strait relations.
Li Jie , a naval expert based in Beijing, said that except for Japan, no other countries would want to help the US pass on technology to Taiwan and risk offending the mainland.
"This would create a setback in cross-strait relations," he warned.
......................
What the hell is that image? Don't tell me its a submarine assembled in Taiwan?
