Interesting that the U.S. would sell Taiwan conventional submarines as we have not produced any for decades and there does not appear to be a current capability to produce them without a major new start effort.
David Bier //repost of 52525 which got chewed up by Yahoo// http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=750505&C=asiapac Posted 03/29/05 10:12 Taiwan Parliament Stalls New $15.2 Billion Arms Package By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, TAIPEI A $15.2 billion arms bill was reintroduced into Taiwan's parliament March 29 but failed to clear its first hurdle three months after its initial rejection by the legislature. The proposed purchase of six PAC-3 Patriot anti-missile systems, eight conventional submarines and a fleet of submarine-hunting P-3C aircraft from the United States over a 15-year period was approved by the cabinet last week. However, the bill, which is aimed at boosting the island's defense capabilities against rival China, needs parliament's approval. In December, the legislature killed the original bill, which was priced at 610.8 billion Taiwan dollars ($19.33 billion), with some opposition lawmakers saying Taiwan could not afford it. Others said the time-period for delivery of the equipment was too long to fend off any attack from China. The amended package, valued at 480 billion Taiwan dollars ($15.2 billion), was introduced into parliament March 29 but failed to clear the legislature's procedure committee, a necessary step before it can be heard in the full house. Despite the setback, the defense ministry said it was optimistic about its chances of approval. "Unlike last year when the opposition shot down the bill, lawmakers from the ruling party and the opposition have arrived at some kind of agreement," defense ministry spokesman Liou Chih-jein told Agence France-Presse. "It was agreed that given China's mounting military threat, Taiwan requires more advanced weapons," he said. China's spike in military spending and its enactment of an anti-secession law earlier this month authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves toward formal independence helped lead to the agreement, Liou said. Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949. Taiwan's Defense Minister Lee Jye earlier this month urged legislators to approve the arms package, saying China would be strong enough to invade the island by 2020 without such a deterrent. He has pointed to China's decision to raise military spending this year by 12.6 percent to 244.65 billion yuan ($29.5 billion). The United States remains Taiwan's leading arms supplier despite switching diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979. Under the Taiwan Relations Act it is obliged to provide arms "of a defensive nature." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
