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TAIWAN SENDS DELEGATION TO U.S. TO COORDINATE ARMS DEAL

ROC Central News Agency

2006-11-10 16:56:17

    Taipei, Nov. 10 (CNA) National Defense Minister Lee Jye said Friday that his ministry has sent a delegation to the United States to coordinate with its American counterparts on matters concerning arms procurements.

    After the return of the delegation, the ministry will know the latest U.S. stance on the matter, Lee said.

    He made the remarks when he and Foreign Affairs Minister Huang Chih-fang, invited by the legislative caucus of the opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union, reported on the impact of the U.S. midterm elections on U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation.

    Both Lee and Huang said that despite the Democrats taking command of both houses of Congress, U.S. policy will be consistent and its stance on Taiwan's arms procurements will not change.

    Lee said the ministry will ask the U.S., which has listed the initial-stage operational expenses for the purchase of conventional submarines at NT$11.7 billion (US$354.54 million), for a change, as the Legislative Yuan only wants a feasibility assessment on the purchase.

    On the purchase of F-16 fighters from the U.S., Lee said the matter is now in its final stage and that the delegation will convey the hope for an earlier delivery, adding that the U.S. had promised that if an arms procurement package passes the legislature, it will facilitate the purchase of the fighters.

    He was referring to the purchase of eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC III anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 submarine-hunting P-3C aircraft that the ministry wants to buy from the U.S., but which has been stonewalled by the opposition-controlled legislature.

    Lee also said that military exchanges with the U.S. and Japan have continued and that invitations to retired U.S. generals to attend the nation's annual military exercise are also being prepared.

    Lee noted that the three big-ticket arms procurements will be paid for over a period of 15 years, and claimed that they will ensure a military balance in the Taiwan Strait for 15 years. The next 15-year arms procurement will also include a new generation of fighters, Arleigh Burke class (Aegis) guided missile destroyers, as well as new armored vehicles, he claimed.

    Huang also said that a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress might ease pressure on the speedy passage of the arms procurement bill, but if the bill continues to stall until a Democrat wins the next U.S. presidential election, not only will the fate of the arms deal be in limbo, but the U.S. attitude toward providing arms to Taiwan could be affected.

    U.S. President George W. Bush approved the robust arms sale to

     Taiwan in 2001.

(By Lilian Wu)

ENDITEM/J