AFP, TAIPEI (AFP) Oct 24, 2003
A senior US naval officer is to arrive in Taipei over the weekend to discuss the sale of eight diesel-electric submarines to the island's navy, the United Daily News reported Friday.
The officer was dispatched by the administration of US President George Bush to expedite the submarine deal, which has been stalled due to disagreements over advance payments demanded by the US, the paper said.
Washington had demanded 333 million US dollars up front to start the program, a price 12 times higher than what the Taipei government had in mind, the report said.
The Bush administration hope the two sides will resolve their differences this time and sign a letter of acknowledgement in February next year before the US presidential elections, it added.
Taiwan's defense ministry declined to comment on the report.
Taiwan's plan to acquire the eight conventional submarines is part of a 10-year arms buildup project worth 700 billion Taiwan dollars (20.59 billion to counter rival China's military modernization efforts.
The value of the sub deal alone is unclear, but the entire military package will also include long-range early-warning radar systems and Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile systems.
Taiwan's submarine fleet consists of two 50-year-old Guppy-class diesel-electric vessels, both in very poor condition, and two Dutch-built Hai-Lung-class boats commissioned in 1987/88.
Bush approved the submarine sale in April 2001 as part of Washington's most comprehensive arms package to the island since 1992.
Washington has been Taiwan's leading arms supplier despite its switching of diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, but Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade the island if it declares independence.
