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Press Release Regarding the First Meeting of the Cross-ministerial Committee for Building Submarines in Taiwan

The Executive Yuan held the first meeting of its "Cross-ministerial Committee for Building Submarines in Taiwan" on March 6, 2003, with Vice Premier Lin Hsin-I presiding. In addition to the vice premier, the committee has 12 other members comprising two ministers-without-portfolio in charge of national defense and economic affairs; six heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Economic Affairs, National Science Council, Council for Economic Planning and Development, and Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics; and four scholars and experts.

This committee has two primary goals: first, to build a fleet of submarines and ensure that it has smooth logistical support; and second, to support local industrial development, introduce more advanced, high-tech capabilities to Taiwan, strive to make some submarines locally, and assume maintenance responsibilities for the fleet. Thus, evaluating the submarine-building capabilities of the China Shipbuilding Corporation and establishing a negotiation mechanism will be the two main efforts of the committee in the future.

Since US President George W. Bush announced in April 2001 to provide Taiwan with eight traditional diesel-powered submarines, the topic has aroused heated discussions around the island. Many legislators and the general public expressed the hope that Taiwan would build its own submarines and use the opportunity to strengthen its national security, revive the local shipbuilding industry, and upgrade the island's technological capabilities.

The committee thoroughly analyzed the external environment and extensively discussed the future negotiation mechanisms, coordination amongst various ministries, the capabilities of the China Shipbuilding Corporation, and the competitive edge of a future submarine-building industry. The functions and responsibilities of various organizations-such as the subcommittee for evaluating Taiwan's submarine-building capabilities and the subcommittee in charge of submarine procurements-were also clearly defined. It was decided to follow a united command line in the negotiations. The committee will issue the guidelines for the concerned agencies to follow in the negotiations with the US. All related information must then be fed back to the committee for final decision. At the same time, the US will be asked to provide standards and methods for evaluating our domestic industries, so that the China Shipbuilding Corporation can make advance preparations for consolidating domestic submarine-building capabilities. Finally, Vice Premier Lin encouraged the China Shipbuilding Corporation to redouble its efforts to upgrade its technology and output capacity, as well as strengthen its competitive edge, so that it will be better prepared to face future challenges.

In order to achieve the goals of this committee, negotiations with other countries will be continued. The committee will integrate the administrative mechanisms of various government ministries and incorporate the insights of scholars and experts to ensure maximum benefits through collective wisdom.