HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- Taiwan and Beijing rush to build up submarine fleets
ASSOCIATED PRESS in
Beijing
Updated at 2.45pm: The two sides have spent billions of dollars on the latest weapons. Taiwan has maintained an edge in the air with hundreds of fighter planes made by the United States and France. But China is eroding that edge, buying new fighter planes and destroyers and, last month, reportedly test-firing an air-to-air Russian missile. Now China is building up its ability to menace trade-dependent Taiwan at sea, acquiring eight new missile-armed Russian submarines in a deal that military analysts say strengthens the Chinese as a serious maritime force. ''The enhanced sub operation will definitely provide China the advantage to conduct a blockade in the Taiwan Strait. It will shift the balance of power,'' said Andrew Yang, secretary general at the Chinese Council of Advanced Policy Studies, a Taipei think tank with close ties with Taiwan's Defence Ministry. The latest Chinese deal - eight Kilo-class submarines for US$1.5 billion, due to be delivered over the next five years - was reported last month by the Interfax-Military News Agency. The Russian and Chinese governments have refused to comment. Taiwan has been trying to strengthen its own underwater ability, lobbying Washington since 1982 for help in acquiring submarines that could help the island fight any potential naval blockade by China. Last week, Taiwan made a rare comment about the issue, saying a potential US$6 billion deal for eight subs was ''going very smoothly''. The new focus on submarine rivalry highlights the lopsided strategic balance between the two sides. For decades, the mainland has had a vastly larger military than Taiwan, which has countered by spending heavily on keeping ahead technologically. Taiwan lies just 150 kilometres off the mainland's coast. But until recently, the mainland had only a tiny navy unable either to invade or to threaten the ocean-borne economic lifeline of the island, one of the world's biggest trading powers. Since the early 1990s, however, China's growing wealth has let it modernise militarily, building or buying new weapons - often with Russian help. Russia's arms exports to China are believed to total about US$1 billion a year. According to Interfax, Russia is building two new destroyers for China armed with the latest radar, missiles and anti-submarine weapons. The Chinese military already has acquired Russian supersonic Su-27 fighters and the technology to build its own. Washington, Taiwan's biggest arms supplier, is struggling to fill its submarine order because US shipyards make only nuclear subs. The blueprints and expertise for making diesel-electric boats would have to come from another country, most likely European. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian said in June that while Taiwan is not in an arms race with China, ''we should do all we can to gain a substantial advantage.'' Washington broke relations with Taiwan in 1979 to form ties with Beijing. But the US government has also implicitly promised to help the island by providing weapons necessary for its defence. Chen Kuo-ming, editor of the magazine Defence International, which covers the Taiwanese military, said Russia, eager for sales, is likely to fill China's order sooner than promised. ''By 2005, China will be able to pose a serious air and naval threat,'' Mr Chen said. According to military analysts, Taiwan probably won't get its boats until 2010, leaving it more open to an attack or blockade. Mr Chen said he doubted that with China's growing economic might, Taiwan will be able to keep pace as its arms spending grows. ''Only big countries can afford an arms race,'' he said. ''In the long run, we definitely won't be able to keep up with China.'' --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================ |
