Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

Russian Sub Deal for Taiwan

Start with the most obvious, I would deny that Russia was supplying submarines ultimately for Taiwan because of the Beijing factor.

A very brief history, then take a look at some revealing facts in the following text.

History:
The U.S. Navy is confronting a new danger – the growing fleets of quiet, diesel-electric subs among potential enemy nations.
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China and Iran have bought brand-new, top-of-the-line, Kilo-class diesel subs from Russia, and other nations also have been buying submarines.
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The ‘Onyx’ missile means that Russia or China can sink American aircraft carriers at will without ever having to escalate to nuclear warfare, which gives both countries a massive strategic advantage.
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The following text reveals.

Under the plan being weighed, the submarines would be outfitted with Russian weapons but equipped with U.S. electronics and propulsion systems before being resold to Taiwan.

Why Russian weapons, obviously they are considered better and are they speaking of the Onyx?
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Because the United States has not built conventional submarines in over 40 years, finding a suitable source of supply has emerged as a major obstacle to completing the deal.

That’s a long time and apparently we have some catching up to do.

He acknowledged that the United States has been mulling over reopening a production line to build the subs for Taiwan based on its 1950s Barbell-class design after encountering difficulties obtaining conventional submarines on the international spot market.

The submarines are high on the agenda of a Taiwan legislative delegation which is in Washington, D.C., this week, as are the island's plans to buy P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries.

A production line just for Taiwan? The United States and Taiwan are scared to death. It does look like Russia or China can sink American aircraft carriers at will without ever having to escalate to nuclear warfare, which gives both countries a massive strategic advantage.

They are not going to come out and admit it but that is what this text is saying.

-Am

MND denies Russia could supply submarines

Option of purchasing Kilo-class submersibles has never been brought up, official asserts

2004-06-27 / Central News Agency /
Taiwan and U.S. officials have never discussed the option of purchasing Russian-built Kilo-class submarines, the Ministry of National Defense asserted yesterday.

The ministry was responding to a Washington Times report published on Friday which said the Pentagon is considering procuring eight very quiet Kilo-class submarines from Russia for resale to Taiwan.

Under the plan being weighed, the submarines would be outfitted with Russian weapons but equipped with U.S. electronics and propulsion systems before being resold to Taiwan.

An MND spokesman said the ministry has never heard of such a plan.

"The option of purchasing Kilo-class submarines has never been brought up in our formal or informal talks with Pentagon officials," the spokesman said, adding that the position papers the MND has presented to the Legislative Yuan and the news media have also never contained such a proposal.

The diesel submarines are part of a controversial NT$610.8 billion arms package being offered by the United States. The procurement budget has been passed by the Executive Yuan but now requires approval in the Legislature, where considerable resistance to the proposal exists.

Because the United States has not built conventional submarines in over 40 years, finding a suitable source of supply has emerged as a major obstacle to completing the deal.

The MND spokesman said the likely sources for the submarines listed in military position papers included Spain, Germany or the United States itself.

He acknowledged that the United States has been mulling over reopening a production line to build the subs for Taiwan based on its 1950s Barbell-class design after encountering difficulties obtaining conventional submarines on the international spot market.

Many major countries that still build conventional subs have been reluctant to accept any Taiwan-related orders for fear of upsetting Beijing, which adamantly opposes weapons sales to Taiwan.

The MND spokesman said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, some arms brokers explored the possibility of selling Russian-made Kilo-class submarines and Su-27 fighter jets to Taiwan.

As the military has traditionally used American- and European-made weaponry systems, the spokesman said, the MND has never included any Russian-made arms among its list of options because of possible difficulties in subsequent repair and maintenance work.

The submarines are high on the agenda of a Taiwan legislative delegation which is in Washington, D.C., this week, as are the island's plans to buy P-3C anti-submarine aircraft and Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries.





http://www.etaiwannews.com/Taiwan/2004/06/27/1088303664.htm