Who Committed Treason？Domestic Submarine Production Should Not Be Used as Tool for Political Battles
United Daily News Editorial, October 10, 2023
Given Taiwan’s international circumstances, the indigenous production of submarines should be a national defense policy with strong consensus. Decided during the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou and carried out under President Tsai Ing-wen, the first indigenous submarine “Narwhal” has recently been unveiled in encapsulation. Unfortunately, due to a statement of Admiral Huang Shu-kuang, former Chief of the General Staff and the convener of the task force on indigenous submarine production, claiming that “the arms dealers have committed treason while legislators kept meddling,” a political storm is in the making and has created new obstacles for the indigenous submarine project.
Because of the secrecy and the complicated international technology, the indigenous submarine project should have been a major national project that bears the least amount of oversight and accountability. Due to its huge NT$40 billion (about US$1.2 billion) budget for eight submarines, arms dealers, brokers, and interest groups have been shuttling back and forth. Looking back at previous cases, the procurement for La Fayette-class frigates around 1990 was a huge scandal in which over NT$5 billion (about US$155 million) kickback was retrieved, yet the murder of Navy Captain Yin Ching-feng is still unresolved. The indigenous “Minehunters” project ended in a loan scandal involving the Ching-fu Shipbuilding Company in 2017. These scandals have revealed the complexity of arms procurement cases. The fact that Admiral Huang is under investigation by national security units explains the difficulty behind the indigenous submarine project.
Huang Shu-kuang had hired Kuo as his advisor for the indigenous submarine project. Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng said Kuo “sometimes went too far,” and as a result, he was suspended by the Navy. This controversial advisor Kuo intends to run for legislator in Kaohsiung and has appeared on several pro-Green political commentary TV programs recently. He has even accused Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun of treason. The problem with his accusation is that some parts of the secret recording containing controversial conversations between Kuo, a foreign technology advisor, and the design company of the submarines involve fraud. The recording has demonstrated again the intertwining interests and entanglement of the concerned parties of the submarine project.
The recording leaked by arms dealers who didn’t win the bid was handed by Legislator Ma to the Ministry of National Defense (MND), Investigation Bureau, and Korean Mission in Taipei for investigation. The MND said it is an internal fight between companies and that nothing touches on national secrets; therefore, is not harmful to the submarine project. However, the case has since been branded as “treason and blocking the indigenous submarines.” The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office has decided to investigate Legislator Ma to see if she has committed “the offense of external security of the state.” The problem with this investigation is that the case involves an advisor and a legislator accusing each other, yet the concerned authorities only want to investigate the legislator and have not found anything illegal about the arms dealers. What an irony!
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) finds great political opportunity in attacking Legislator Ma and branding her as “pro-China” with allegations that she attempted to block the indigenous submarines, all while attacking the KMT for not loving Taiwan. At a DPP Central Standing Committee meeting, DPP Chairman and presidential candidate William Lai even showed an old video clip of him arguing with KMT legislators. The problem with the video is that it only shows then-Legislator Lai was not happy about the Rules Committee blocking the NT$40 billion defense budget, it didn’t tell you when the administration of President George W. Bush in the United States was considering selling Taiwan submarines, it was actually the American arms dealers that blocked the submarine sales. At that time, a KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang introduced legislation urging the Executive Yuan to set up a special task force for the indigenous submarines, for which all the KMT legislators supported. The person who stopped the indigenous submarine project was then-Premier Frank Hsieh. The indigenous submarine project was revived later under the KMT’s Ma administration. Mr. Lai tried to use the submarine case for political gains, yet he intentionally skipped key historical facts. Mr. Lai clearly lacks the integrity of a national leader. Mr. Lai is now running for president. Doesn’t he know the best way to move the indigenous submarine project forward is to keep it from political interference? By making the submarine project a part of the shouting match between political parties, Mr. Lai is simply creating more trouble and political vendetta.
The project on indigenous submarine production has a long way to go. Along the way some malpractices and corruption are bound to happen, eating away at national interests. However, a responsible government should do its best to crack down on malpractices and irregularities. It is disappointing and inconceivable that the DPP has always put political gains as its top priority and care less about the future of the indigenous submarine project. As the political battle continues, the DPP has started to lose ground. Which side does this benefit?
According to Huang, the Narwhal project is supposed to complete sea trial by May next year and be in commission by the end of 2025. He also said there is no timetable for prototype trials. According to past international practice, the fastest time from sea trial to commission is 1.5 years. As a country with no submarine experience, it is too optimistic to think the process can be completed in eight months. Huang hopes to build another submarine in 2027, about which Minister Chiu is optimistic. Yet the budget to build another submarine has not been compiled owing to the careful evaluation of the MND towards the overall goal of the indigenous submarines.
Even the defense minister knows to be prudent for the sake of national interests. Premier Chen Chien-jen has also said the indigenous submarine project has been the goal for many past administrations and recognizes the contributions made by the opposition parties. DPP Chairman William Lai is the only person leading the political attacks in an attempt to win votes at the expense of the national interests and the future of indigenous submarines. This is not the stature that a presidential candidate should have, especially after Mr. Lai has repeatedly called for “national unity”.