Wendell Minnick, Taiwan Pushes for New Weapons on All Fronts. Defense News, May 27, 2015
www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... get-china/26860647/
Quote:
(a) "'The Obama administration is expected to render a decision on the submarine program as part of the upcoming congressional notification,' said a Taiwan defense analyst. 'Not only would US support greatly reduce risks, time and cost for any Taiwan submarine acquisition effort, it could also afford the US government a measure of control over the type and extent of submarine capability that Taiwan ultimately manages to acquire.'
"A credible Taiwan undersea warfare capability also could aid the US strategic rebalance in Asia by contributing to the deterrent against rapidly growing Chinese naval capabilities, he said.
"As part of this notification, the US government could either authorize support for technical assistance by US defense firms for Taiwan's IDS project or approve the long-delayed US-led Taiwan submarine program, he said.
(b) "The Taiwan Army has a requirement for two to four battalions of surplus US Army M1A1/M1A2 main battle tanks, but this is still in programming stages. The M1s are needed to replace 50-ton M48/M60 Patton tanks, but tanks are not given a high priority with Taiwan's mountainous interior and low coastal wetlands. Bridges are also a problem as many in the rural areas are too weak after years of earthquakes to handle the 60-ton M1 tank.
(c) "Taiwan acquired 54 rebuilt [amphibious assault vehicles--to be used in Taiwan should PLA succeeding in landing] AAV-7A1s in 2006 from the United States. * * * US Marines, dressed as civilians, were deployed to Kaohsiung to assist in training Taiwan Marines on operating the vehicles.
(d) "Taiwan's Air Force wants the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing fighter, but they can't afford new F-16sC/D fighters so it is highly unlikely they will be able to pay for an advanced warplane like a stealth fighter, said Erich Shih, a Taiwan-based defense expert. This is a common problem, Shih said. "If you can't afford $1 stuff and you keep asking the Americans for $5 stuff, in the end you just can't buy it." Everyone becomes frustrated, he said, especially the Americans.
My comment:
(a) I read that article the day it was published. It was lengthy, but I patiently went through it. The above quotation startled me: US not just contemplates some form of assistance in building submarines, but the deliberation go far enough, to near congressional notification. (There is no need to read the rest of article, which is mostly unimportant.)
(b) M1 Abrams
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_Abrams
(In use 1980- ; named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972; section 4 Operators: (view map) Australia and US allies in Middle East (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait))
(c) Why Taiwan has no money to buy F-16 C/D is not explained. Didn't Taiwan make noises in 2011? See Shannon Tiezzi, Why The US Will Not Sell Advanced Fighters To Taiwan. TheDiplomat.com, Jan 11, 2014.
thediplomat.com/2014/01/why-the-us-will-not-sell-advanced-fighters-to-taiwan/
Quote: "No president since George HW Bush has approved the sale of advanced fighter jets to Taiwan, and even that approval came under very specific circumstances. When Bush approved the sale of 150 F-16 A/B fighters to Taiwan, it was almost entirely a ploy to increase his domestic approval ratings ahead of the 1992 presidential election. Bush had faced severe criticism over his handling of US-China relations in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square violence in 1989. Selling advanced fighters to Taiwan was a way of contradicting Bill Clinton’s accusations that Bush was coddling “the butchers of Beijing.” Further, as James Mann argued in his book About Face, the sale of F-16 A/B fighters was also immensely profitable for General Dynamics (the F-16 manufacturer), and created nearly 6,000 new jobs during an economic downturn. In other words, the last sale of US fighters to Taiwan was dictated by a unique confluence of US domestic politics — a scenario unlikely to be repeated. It’s not a coincidence that the U.S. hasn’t sold fighters to Taiwan in over 20 years. Instead, presidents have opted for less controversial measures, such as the 2011 agreement to upgrade Taiwan’s existing fleet of F-16 A/B fighters.
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发表于 5-30-2015 11:04:55
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