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LAWMAKERS WARN AGAINST ARMS BROKER INVOLVEMENT IN SUBMARINE DEAL

Jun 08, 2002 17:33 UTC+0800

Taipei, June 8 (CNA) A group of lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party urged the military Saturday to prevent arms brokers allegedly involved in the murder of a navy officer from getting involved in its submarine procurement plan.

The DPP legislators claimed in a joint press release that arms brokers said to have been involved in the 1993 murder of Captain Yin Ching-feng have joined forces with former U.S., German, Taiwan and even mainland Chinese military and government officials to lobby for orders related to Taiwan's plan to purchase eight conventional submarines from the United States.

"They have formed a cross-country lobbying group aimed at securing orders related to the navy's submarine procurement project worth more than NT$240 billion (US$7.02 billion)," said the press release, which was jointly issued by legislators Trong Chai, Lin Chin-hsing, Chiang Chau-yi, Lee Chen-nan and Yu Ching.

The U.S. government agreed to sell Taiwan eight diesel-powered submarines as part of a robust arms sales package unveiled last year and the lawmakers said that as the United States has not built any conventional submarines for many years, it may have to seek a technology transfer from Germany.

"This would offer access for German arms brokers believed to be closely related to the murder of Captain Yin to the submarine deal," the press release said.

It suggested that the military should appoint high-ranking officers to join a U.S. panel to select contractors to build the submarines.

The lawmakers further said that the Taiwan panel set up to negotiate the deal with the United States should be composed of not only military officers but also government officials and experts in shipbuilding, international law and judicial affairs.

The military should also work closely with the government to plug any loopholes that might allow the cross-country lobbying groups to secure illegal profits from the deal.

According to the press release, the United States sent a team of experts to Taiwan last September to conduct initial talks on the submarine deal. The two sides reached a consensus at that time that a formal contract on the deal should be signed by the autumn of 2004.

It further said that the deal will comprise two parts -- one regarding the submarine construction and the other regarding weaponry systems to be installed on the vessels. The submarine construction will be open for bidding by shipbuilders from around the world, but prospective bidders must have export licenses issued by their governments. Only American defense contractors will be allowed to bid for the weaponry systems to be installed on the submarines.

(By Sofia Wu)