Although the US has approved the marketing license required for US manufacturers to sell Taiwan the technology needed to build domestic submarines, the move could prove largely symbolic if the nation lacks the ability to undertake system integration, parts assembly and testing, experts said yesterday.
The US Department of State’s approval of the marketing license is a major breakthrough for Taiwan’s goal of developing its own submarines, the Ministry of National Defense said on Saturday, while expressing gratitude to the US government for helping Taiwan upgrade its self-defense capabilities.
The Presidential Office and the ministry thanked the US for its commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which requires the US to provide Taiwan with arms and services of a defensive nature.
Although the US has continuously insisted on a peaceful settlement of cross-strait differences based on the TRA, China’s frequent military maneuvers near Taiwan have prompted Washington to take measures to ensure Taipei can maintain a credible defense through either business sales or technology transfers, National Chengchi University Institute of International Relations director Arthur Ding (丁樹範) said.
US technology transfers to Taiwan have often been limited to those of a defensive nature, with front-end technologies excluded, Ding said.
In contrast, the granting of the marketing license could be interpreted as US support for Taiwan to build domestic submarines, Ding said.
However, under this sales model, Taiwan has to manage and control downstream supply chain operations, such as system integration, he said, adding that if the government really wants to develop an indigenous defense industry, it needs clearer policies regarding budget allocation and investment.
The marketing license could indeed facilitate the building of domestic submarines, but there could still be a long way to go, because the US might not supply all the technology or equipment needed for the submarine project, such as weapons, sonar and underwater communication systems, Asia-Pacific Defense magazine editor-in-chief Kevin Cheng (鄭繼文) said.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
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