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MND TO FORM SPECIAL PANEL TO EVALUATE SUBMARINE PROCUREMENT PLAN

Jun 25, 2002 11:57 UTC+0800

Taipei, June 25 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will join forces with relevant government agencies as well as industrial and academic communities in forming a special panel to assess the military's submarine procurement plan, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Speaking at a routine news conference, MND spokesman Maj. Gen. Huang Suey-sheng said the MND will invite officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs as well as representatives from the shipbuilding industry, international law experts and accountants to form a joint panel to make an overall review of the submarine procurement plan.

Huang declined to make any response to a newspaper report that Germany may agree to sell conventional submarines to Taiwan through the United States. "It's the MND's established policy to refrain from making any comments on our arms procurement projects," he added.

The United States announced a robust arms sales package to Taiwan in April 2001, including eight diesel-powered submarines. As the United States has not built any conventional submarines for years, speculation about the deal has been rife.

Huang said both the MND and the U.S. government have set up special panels to handle the submarine procurement issue. "The U.S. government is now reviewing data provided by prospective contractors," he noted, adding that consultations between the two sides about the deal have been proceeding smoothly as scheduled.

(By Sofia Wu)