|
MND denies claim it¡¦s
deferring arms payments
By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday denied claims by a newspaper
that it would seek to defer payment for some US arms purchases and delay certain
procurements to save money to finance an all-volunteer military program.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday said the ministry was seeking the
delays as a means to fulfill a campaign pledge by President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E)
to create a professional military during his term.
Citing anonymous military officials, the China Times said the ministry had
approached the US with the proposal and that Washington had said it understood
the reason for the request and had accepted it.
The article quoted the officials as saying that delivery of UH-60 Black Hawk
utility helicopters, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters and PAC-III
missile defense batteries would be delayed if the ministry decided to delay
payment for those platforms.
The officials also said that two primary arms procurements requests ¡X F-16C/D
aircraft and diesel submarines ¡X would be also delayed, the paper said. Taiwan
has requested those two items for years, with little movement on Washington¡¦s
part.
The article also said that a plan unveiled last month to develop a high-tech
missile corvette could also be delayed as a result.
In addition to the China Times article, a posting on the Military News Agency
Web site on Saturday read: ¡§The ministry proposes to prolong the periods for
some arms procurement proposals and their payments to meet personnel costs for
the implementation of a professional military system.¡¨
Responding to the claims, Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (·¨©À¯ª)
told a press conference that the country had not changed its position on the
procurement of advanced arms systems from the US and that the military had no
plan to delay payment on arms acquisitions from the US.
¡§The report is not true and is completely unfounded,¡¨ Yang said.
Since Ma took office in 2008, he has on various occasions expressed the
country¡¦s determination to procure F-16C/D aircraft and diesel submarines from
the US, Yang said.
On several occasions, Ma met US members of US Congress or other US guests and
reiterated the importance of the two items to Taiwan¡¦s defense, he said.
Yang said that in more than 30 years, the country had never delayed payments for
US arms sales.
The US is very clear about this part, he said.
Asked to comment on the Military News Agency report, Yang said the words in the
posting were ¡§inappropriate,¡¨ without elaborating.
On the establishment of the all-volunteer military system, Yang said it was one
of the government¡¦s key policies and that the Executive Yuan had set up a
special task force to offer guidance on its implementation.
¡§The all-volunteer recruitment system will be carried out in a gradual manner by
pooling the resources of all government departments,¡¨ Yang said, adding that
well-designed strategies and steps would be adopted to implement the ambitious
project.
Regarding the slow progress of the F-16C/D procurement plan, Yang said Taiwan
had explained in detail to US officials its need to acquire a new generation of
fighters to update its fleet of warplanes to safeguard its airspace, deter
invasion and maintain regional stability and peace.
¡§We will step up our lobbying efforts and continue pushing the US authorities to
conclude their assessment and come up with a positive decision soon,¡¨ Yang said.
In terms of the submarine deal, Yang said that since the legislature had
approved the budget for the first phase of a feasibility study on the project,
that policy would also continue unchanged.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
|
