Taiwan questions release
of arms 'wish list'

Taiwanese lawmakers, concerned about national security, have questioned the nation's chief of the general staff as to how Taipei's "wish list" of weapons it wants to buy from the U.S. was made public.

Last week the Washington Times published a fairly robust list of weapons and weapons systems Taiwanese military and government leaders are pushing the Bush administration to sell to the island democracy in the face of the mainland's rising military power.

After the list was made public, some members of the Legislative Yuan on Thursday asked chief of the general staff Tang Yao-ming if the release of the list was a case of leaked state secrets.

Also, some lawmakers have demanded that the military lodge a protest with Washington.

According to reports, Tang told lawmakers that an "initial investigation" found that the arms list came from a report compiled by U.S. congressional investigators and gleaned from information they received during a fact-finding mission to Taiwan last month.

Tang said the information was "used for congressional reference," but was not released in any way by Taiwan.

Though Tang promised lawmakers to "express my concerns" to U.S. and Taiwanese officials, he noted that the list provided China with "material for attack" and Washington with "food for thought."

Asked if the published arms list was correct, Tang said that, indeed, many items revealed were weapons needed by Taipei. But he refused to divulge specifics about the list or U.S.-Taiwan discussions involving the requested weapons, noting that if he were to reveal the list, China and other potential Taiwanese enemies will have achieved "a fait accompli."

Last week, the Times said a new Senate report recommended selling advanced weapons to Taiwan as a means of countering China's growing power.

"It is time to admit that continuing our current policy toward Taiwan will guarantee the destruction of that island democracy by China's rapidly expanding military forces," said the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff report, as quoted by the paper.

The report reveals the first official details of Taiwan's latest annual arms requests to the U.S., said the Times.

Even before the Bush administration managed to get its feet wet after being inaugurated Jan. 20, Taiwan had appealed for advanced U.S. weapons.

"Largely shunned by the Clinton administration in its quest to buy more advanced weapons from the United States, the government of Taiwan has asked the new administration of President George W. Bush to sell it advanced weapons systems," Newsline USA, quoting published reports, said Jan. 23.

According to the Times, included in Taiwan's "official" arms list are:

• Four Aegis-equipped destroyers; Aegis systems are some of the most advanced air defense and battle management systems available on modern warships;

• Four Kidd-class destroyers, which could be transferred to Taiwan while the U.S. was building the Aegis vessels;
• P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft, to counter any Chinese blockade;
• High-speed, anti-radiation missiles to counter China's new Russian-built S-300 air-defense missile systems, as reported by WorldNetDaily Feb. 3;
• Naval ship-to-ship missiles and air-defense missiles;
• Fighter helmet-sighted air-to-air missiles, to match Chinese technology recently bought from Russia;
• Longer-range, more accurate artillery for Taiwan's ground forces;
• Advanced-radar-equipped Apache helicopters
• Armor, including tanks, to combat Chinese amphibious forces.

The Times said current U.S. policy towards Taiwan is "outdated, dangerous," and may someday lead to a conflict between the mainland and Taipei that would draw in the U.S.

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