Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=4/18/01

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=U-S / TAIWAN ARMS SALES

NUMBER=5-49332

BYLINE=ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE=PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: The United States next week (Apr. 24th) is expected to disclose what new military equipment it is willing to sell Taiwan to enhance the island's defenses. V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida reports from the Pentagon on Taiwan's shopping list and how it has been received by U-S defense officials.

TEXT: Publicly, the Bush administration in general and the Defense Department in particular decline to talk about what military equipment Taiwan wants and which items it is likely to get.

Rear Admiral Craig Quigley is the Pentagon's spokesman:

/// QUIGLEY ACTUALITY ///

We have agreed with Taiwan over the years that we would not discuss which particular systems they had asked us to consider. We have not done that this year.

/// END ACTUALITY ///

But a senior Pentagon official tells V-O-A that Taiwan's military shopping lists are always extensive and this year's is no different.

It includes destroyers, submarines, planes, helicopters, missiles, and more.

No single item has stirred more interest than the possible U-S sale to Taiwan of Aegis weapons systems. These ship-mounted systems include an advanced radar capable of detecting and tracking more than 100 possible targets. At the same time, the Aegis's computer-based command and control component can provide guidance to direct weapons against threats in the air, underwater, or on the surface.

U-S military experts suggest it could be a perfect system for Taiwan to deal with China's growing aircraft, missile, and naval forces.

Yet there are problems. For one, China is vehemently opposed to any U-S sale of Aegis systems to Taiwan.

Aegis systems and their platforms would also take years to build and deploy. They are expensive. And there is serious doubt whether Taiwan's military has the necessary training to operate and maintain Aegis.

A senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, describes it as a "system Taiwan can't use" but whose sale would definitely sour U-S relations with China.

This official indicates the Taiwanese are sensitive to the problems. He says that despite their wish list, Taiwanese authorities are being "realistic" about their ability to incorporate such costly and sophisticated systems into the island's defenses.

Pentagon officials say their latest talks with Taiwanese authorities have addressed training issues and the possibility of a phased approach to weapons systems sales.

In this context, defense officials have made clear to Taiwan it can have an older type of destroyer equipped with a less-complex, Aegis-like defense system. Officials say these Kidd-class vessels, as they are known, would be available quickly and at a fraction of the cost of the Aegis-equipped Arleigh Burke class destroyers. The Kidd-class destroyers would become the largest and most powerful in Taiwan's navy.

At the same time, to keep its options open, the Bush administration could commission the construction of Aegis platforms that could eventually be sold to Taiwan.

As for Taiwan's other defensive needs, the senior Pentagon official indicates the island could use an improved anti-submarine capability. That, he says, can be addressed through the sale of P-3 aircraft capable of detecting, tracking and destroying submarines.

But the official says the best anti-submarine tool is a submarine itself. He suggests the United States is seriously evaluating Taiwan's desire for diesel-powered submarines. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/JWH