Washington, April 18 (CNA) The US administration gave a greenlight to the sale of a package of arms to Taiwan but has deferred a decision on the controversial sale of four destroyers with the Aegis combat management system, US officials said on Tuesday.
President Bill Clinton met with top administration officials on Monday and agreed to postpone decisions on Taiwan's requests for the Aegis destroyers, P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft and diesel submarines, pending a comprehensive review of Taiwan's defense needs, said the officials who requested anonymity.
The Aegis destroyer, with a price tag of about US$1.1 billion, is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer equipped with an array of radar and computer equipment which can monitor, track and engage up to 100 targets simultaneously at ranges of up to 461 km.
However, the White House approved the sale of a long-distance radar system known as PAVE PAWS, with the caveat that Taiwan should demonstrate how it will integrate the radar with its existing air defense system.
PAVE PAWS radar can detect missile launches within a distance of 3,000 miles and can link up with anti-missile systems under development by the United States.
US officials hinted that the PAVE PAWS radar to be sold to Taiwan will not be as powerful as the version used by the US armed forces, but will greatly boost Taiwan's early warning capability.
Also approved were the sales of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM), and an upgraded version of the infrared-guided Maverick anti-ship missiles.
AMRAAM, which has not been sold to Asian states before, will be kept on US soil, and Taiwan pilots will be trained to use it in the United States. To avoid an arms race in the region, the missiles will not be moved to Taiwan unless mainland China acquires equally advanced Russian-made missiles, said the officials.
In interviews with the New York Times and the Washington Post, Undersecretary of Defense Walter B. Slocombe described the sales as a robust package, and said the United States does not have to feel sorry about the items left out of the package.
The Washington Post said that pro-Taiwan members of the US Congress could still press the administration to reinstate the Aegis destroyers into the package, or replace them with something else as compensation.
US Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott, who favored selling the Aegis destroyers (which would have been built in his home state of Mississippi), said he will reserve his comments until the official announcement of the decision.
Meanwhile Republican Sen. Jesse Helms criticized the Pentagon, saying it has no military justification in denying Taiwan "these crucial defensive items."
He criticized the Pentagon for bowing to pressure from the White House and the State Department "to sacrifice Taiwan's security in order to appease the dictators in Beijing."
"The politicized handling of Taiwan's defense request is a clear demonstration of why the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act is so urgently needed," said Helms. He was referring to a bill sponsored by Taiwan supporters in Congress in defiance of the White House's opposition to strengthened US military ties with Taiwan.
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee derided the Pentagon's decision to sell Taiwan the PAVE PAWS radar system only after the island has shown how it could be integrated into Taiwan's air defense system, describing it as "adding insult to injury." (By Herman Pan and Maubo Chang)
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