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Posted on 01/19/2003 4:22:08 PM PST by Lessismore
TAIPEI - Taiwan's parliament has demanded a 15-per-cent price cut for the navy's planned purchase of four Kidd-class destroyers from the United States, it was reported yesterday.
A team of naval officers left for the US yesterday to discuss the discount which the Taiwanese parliament demanded while approving the arms purchase budget, the China Times said.
If successful, the 'bargaining trip' could save Taiwan up to NT$4.3 billion (S$216 million), it said. The navy declined to comment on the report.
The Defence Ministry has proposed to acquire the four second-hand warships for US$875 million (S$1.5 billion).
The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency in November notified Congress of the possible sale of the four 9,600-tonne guided missile destroyers.
Also included in the sale would be 248 SM-2 Block IIIA Standard missiles, 32 RGM-84L Block II Harpoon missiles, shipyard and port support services and post-transfer activities including personnel training as well as spare parts.
Critics are worried the second-hand warships would prove a 'bottomless pit' and could be extremely vulnerable in the event of a Chinese attack.
But supporters argue that Taiwan badly needs the four warships - relatively modern compared with its current fleet of seven 50-year-old destroyers - as they are capable of serving as offshore military command platforms. --AFP
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What about we send you 4 Kidd-class destroyers for the same price and we throw in some hidden nuclear missile subs (aka Boomers) around the general vicinity? :)
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