Posted on 11/21/2001 4:17:58 AM PST by Tai_Chung
China repeated its objection on Tuesday to U.S. sales of submarines to Taiwan after a newspaper on the island reported that U.S. manufacturers may be trying to fill an order for the craft offered by Washington in April.
"We firmly oppose the American sale of arms, especially submarines, to Taiwan," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a news conference.
The Taipei-based China Times reported that seven U.S. manufacturers were planning to bid for tenders to build eight diesel submarines.
"We have urged the American side to recognise the serious consequences of selling arms to Taiwan," said Zhang.
Beijing considers Taiwan a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland by force if necessary.
Beijing is particularly alarmed by the prospect of Taiwan obtaining a fleet of modern submarines which could thwart any Chinese blockade of the island.
The Taiwan newspaper quoted unnamed U.S. officials as saying the seven contractors, including Northrop Grumman Corp and General Dynamics, had submitted letters of intent to bid for the tender, which is expected to open in January.
The U.S. officials declined to identify the other five manufacturers, the newspaper said.
Earlier this month, another Taiwan newspaper quoted U.S. military officials as saying the Pentagon supported the building of the boats. The United States no longer builds diesel submarines, making only nuclear craft.
Jane's Defence Weekly reported this week that U.S. manufacturers were exploring ways to obtain blueprints for diesel submarines from other countries.
The Netherlands and Germany, which both make diesel submarines, have said they will not be part of a deal for fear of angering China.
This year's U.S. arms sales package to Taiwan, which included four Kidd-class destroyers, 12 anti-submarine P-3 "Orion" aircraft and other high-tech weapons, was the biggest in more than a decade.
Last month, Taiwan's legislators said the island would start taking delivery of diesel submarines from the United States in 2010 as part of an arms build-up in the face of Chinese military threats.
If the US had to fight a multi-front war again, I'm confident they could win. Unfortunately, the biggest threat would be anti-war zealots trying to undermine US morale.
The last time our enemies coordinated their wars, we demolished Germany, Italy, and Japan.The Axis never coordinated, or at least not terribly well. E.g. Eatwell's Fascism; A History details many of the misfires and miscommunications and missed opportunities of the Nazi and Fascist heirarchies. I generally hate "what if" histories, but what if Japan after Pearl Harbor had taken Madagascar, using it as a staging ground for land, sea, and air operations against the Suez Canal etc. The Germans never would have lost the Med or North Africa etc., and the British would have been choked off from operations in the Pacific.
Ahhh..shut-up...
(B) If, as China contends, Taiwan is just part of China, then... how can China object to the sales of subs to itself?
Dan
What if we sold Taiwan a boomer?
5.56mm
ROFLMAO!
5.56mm
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.