Frigates

Press, 21 August 1989, Page 12

Frigates

Sir,— The feature article (August 12) about pretentious, expensive frigates and modest alternatives had me remembering back to 1982 when the Muldoon Government, urged on by "think big” technocrats, opted for the high dam at Clyde rather than the much less damaging equivalent of two low dams built in succession. Look at the resulting white elephant down there now. Let us not be carried along by ambitious war-planners and their Minister to mortgage ourselves for four white elephants, but consider, clearly, what we really need. — Yours, etc., JIM McCAHON. August 14, 1989.

Sir,—Thanks to questions put in the House by National’s member for Invercargill, Rob Munro, and recorded in Hansard, evidence now exists that as the antifrigate people go into bat against the Anzac frigates they are being funded by the Rainbow Warrior Trust Fund. It is possible that those responsible for polluting the environment in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington are being paid for their “anti-frigate" graffiti. If the manipulation of the public mind succeeds, we have the interesting possibility of Greenpeace sinking the Royal New Zealand Navy. — Yours, etc.,

SUE HUNT. August 15, 1989.

Sir,—The support for frigaterelated employment seems justifiable if we are prepared to become involved in the arms industry. I wonder how many proponents have given thought to the implications. A seemingly innocuous industry engaged in building patrol vessels for our own use could easily lead to arms exports, under pressure from the industry to expand. Thus we would join the merchants of death club and be able to delight in witnessing the destruction of some future Beirut because arms exports are profitable. Surely there is sufficient enlightenment here to provide employment without engaging in this sort of scenario. It seems a particularly inappropriate time to embark on this sort of employment promotion when changing attitudes between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. have already resulted in some arms reduction. — Yours, etc., PETER STOCKER. August 16, 1989.

Sir,—We are again expected to wear blinkers after the news that German frigates will mean 2000 jobs here — a mere drop in the bucket. I remember how we contributed to the Singapore base to protect us from the Asian hordes, and the result America defeated the Japanese, then took

them, the South Koreans and the traitorous Taiwanese to its bosom. Now the Asian hordes are coming anyway — at least the more wealthy of them. To go back further, New Zealand in its 1914 fervour presented a warship to the Royal Navy, and 20 years later none of the borrowed SIM had been repaid, only the interest. Jim Anderton has shown how $500,000 (one frigate) could produce 80,000 jobs for New Zealanders in constructive work, such as in the impoverished health, education, housing and other services, providing a dramatic drop in dole payments. Building our own naval vessels would contribute even more — Yours, etc., VARIAN J. WILSON. August 16,1989.

Sir,—l believe the only credible threat to New Zealand is from the ballistic missilearmed nuclear submarine. Such craft are capable of more than 30 surface knots and can launch their deadly rockets considerable distances from our shores. Should this hypothesis be correct, frigates or suchlike vessels would be absolutely useless for our defence. Our best hope must surely lie in the possession of more long-range reconnaisance aircraft capable of locating and dealing with surfaced or submerged craft. Our own Orion crews have proved themselves second to none internationally in annual competition. For the price of one frigate, we could acquire several more Orions, or their successors, and employ them in our existing air force organisation. We could even locate underwater craft in the Tasman, and let our Australian friends deal with them accordingly. Mr Quigley should please note that Whenuapai is much closer to our area of interest than is Uhalsea.—Yours, etc., C. W. BROMLEY. August 11, 1989.

Sir, —Conspicuous omissions from your editorial on the Anzac frigates (August 16) are any references to proposed alternative vessels or the potential enemies for which we require these costly high-tech warships. Granted, New Zealand needs a blue-water navy to provide fishery surveillance and aid for the small countries in the South Pacific, but frigates are quite inappropriate for such operations. As one who has sailed on a variety of naval vessels, mainly frigates, I believe that the latter are of strictly limited value when faced with the most likely type of crises beyond our shores. By far the biggest threats to our Pacific neighbours are natural disasters and Japanese economic encroachments on their resources. To buy Anzac frigates might please the Australian and United States Governments, but would disappoint millions of people here and around the world. —Yours, etc., W. R. SYKES. August Ig*. 1989.