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not commit us to approving an Export Licence Application, if one
were made, but decisions made on AWPs are rarely altered when Export
Licences are submitted. The vessels would either be built in the LK, or in Taiwan under licence:
4. On 6 August last year, Lord Caithness approved an application for the sale of 33 metre patrol boats to the Taiwan coastguard, two
to be manufactured on the Isle of Wight, and a further ten to be
manufactured in Taiwan. These have not yet been exported; the details of the sale are still being discussed between the UK
supplier (FBM Marine Ltd) and Taiwan. My submission of 7 February
1991 recommended that, while the sale of 33 metre boats should be
allowed, 60 metre boats should not be permitted. Lord Caithness
agreed to this recommendation, but felt we were being rather
cautious.
C
5. Other European countries appear to be moving closer towards
naval sales to Taiwan. Our Embassy in Paris have been told by the French that France will definitely sell frigates to Taiwan. This has not, however, yet been officially announced, and the finer
points of the sale are still to be smoothed out with Taiwan. There is continuing speculation in Holland that the Dutch will soon sell further submarines to Taiwan: the Dutch press report that the Dut ch Cabinet will make a decision before the beginning of March.
ARGUMENT
6.
Approval of this application would go beyond any thing we have authorised previously. However, the proposed recipient of the boats is not military, but civilian. Coastguard duties in Taiwan are carried out in part by the navy and in part by the marine police. We would specify that the end user would have to be the marine police (although we could not enforce this once the boats had been delivered). The boats would be sold without arms (although, again, it would be very difficult for us to ensure that Taiwan did not a rm
them).
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