BBC Wednesday, 25 April, 2001, 21:47 GMT 22:47 UK
EU threatens to sink
US/Taiwan sub deal
Some of Taiwan's current subs are of World War II
vintage
By Rob Broomby in Berlin
Plans by US President George W Bush to sell
weapons including eight diesel-powered
submarines to Taiwan have received an
embarrassing setback at the hands of
European governments.
Neither the Germans nor the Dutch, who have
sown up the market in diesel submarines, are
willing to allow the sale of the subs to Taiwan.
That leaves Mr Bush in the unusual position of
having promised to sell technology his country
does not control, and may have difficulty
supplying.
US Government officials
implied recently that
the Germans or the
Dutch may be able to
supply the
controversial subs.
However Juergen
Rohweder, a
spokesman for the
German shipbuilders,
HDV, told the BBC: "We
have not been asked
by the US or the
Taiwanese
governments to sell the
submarines."
He admitted the company would like a share of
the $1.1bn deal, but "the German Government
rules are clear", he said - "it's not allowed."
Exports forbidden
Michael Steiner, senior foreign policy advisor to
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, was equally
categorical.
"No application has been made and it would
never be approved."
German and Dutch rules
forbid arms exports to
regions in crisis, and
few relationships are as
tense as that between
China and Taiwan.
London-based defence analyst, Paul Beaver, of
Jane's, said: "No European Union country would
consider selling to Taiwan."
That leaves the United States in the unusual
position of trying to work up its own submarine
project.
The only company that could provide such
submarines would be the Mississippi-based
shipbuilding firm Ingalls - but they have not
built a diesel-powered sub since the 1960s.
No plans
Company spokesman Randy Belote told the
BBC: "We have the capacity and capability to
assist with the project," but admitted the firm
did not have a design to work with.
"There are designs out
there," he said,
enigmatically - but
refused to be drawn on
the timescale for
developing a
diesel-powered
submarine.
The company now
builds nuclear powered
vessels, a very
different enterprise.
Defence experts doubt
that Ingalls could build submarines that the
Taiwanese could afford, as they would be
starting almost from scratch.
"I wish them luck," said and official in Berlin
with a touch of sarcasm.
The speculation began after a briefing by
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer.
He was asked by reporters on Tuesday
whether the Germans or the Dutch had been
consulted about the Taiwanese arms sale.
He said that "procurement decisions,
contracting decisions" would be made "down
the road" and "it would not be appropriate to
make those decisions or consultations prior to
the announcement to the Taiwanese of the
weapons that we are prepared to sell to
them".
The diesel subs would be part of a package of
US arms which would include Kidd-class
destroyers and P-3C submarine-hunting
aircraft.
-- Anonymous, April 25, 2001
Pentagon searching for sub
builders
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The Pentagon has begun the process of
procuring up to
eight diesel-powered submarines for Taiwan and
is
anticipating "political problems" from China in
the process,
U.S. government officials said yesterday.
The process is being directed
by the Defense Cooperation
Security Agency, which already
has begun contacting foreign
governments in search of a
submarine-design license.
The agency is looking for a
design that can be licensed to one
of two U.S. shipbuilders that
would bid for the contract, said
officials who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.
The governments of Germany
and the Netherlands said Tuesday
they would not help the United States by
licensing the design
of their diesel submarines.
"The Germans have a good design. The Dutch
have a
good design. I believe the Italians -- there are
good designs
for diesel electric submarines out there,"
Pentagon
spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley told reporters
on
Tuesday.
But a U.S. government official said
yesterday that the
administration expects China to take steps
behind the scenes
to make it hard to procure design plans.
"There are a lot of different ways it could
be done," said
the official. "There are other producers besides
the
Netherlands and Germany. That said, there are
going to be
political problems with all third parties."
China´s communist government is very
aggressive in
threatening economic retaliation against any
nation that
provides arms or military assistance to
Taiwan.
Other nations that could be provide a
submarine design
for the submarine deal include Australia,
Britain and Japan.
Another possibility is that a U.S.
shipbuilder could
construct the submarines from scratch. However,
officials
said that would sharply increase the costs for
the weapons.
"The cheapest way is to purchase an
existing design and
build it here," the official said.
Asked about the difficulties in getting a
design license,
Adm. Quigley said: "We are reasonably sure that
if the
Taiwanese wish to come through us to obtain
submarines,
then we will find a way to make that work. . . .
We are
confident that we can find a way to make that
happen."
The United States does not manufacture
diesel submarines
and officials said the most likely builder would
be the Ingalls
shipyard in Mississippi.
Ingalls officials have told the U.S.
government they would
be able to construct the submarines based on a
foreign
design.
President Bush on Monday approved the sale
of the
submarines to bolster Taiwan´s defenses against
a Chinese
blockade or submarine attack.
The Taiwanese are expected to go ahead with
the
purchase because of the buildup of Chinese naval
forces
opposite the island. China recently purchased
two
guided-missile destroyers from Russia and also
is buying four
Kilo-class attack submarines.
In addition to the submarines, which in the
past were
rejected by the Clinton administration as
offensive arms, the
Bush administration has approved the sale of
Mark 48
torpedos, among the Navy´s most capable
weapons.
The administration also approved the sale
of Harpoon
anti-ship missiles that can be fired from the
submarines.
-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001
