"The desire of Taiwan for a fleet of eight diesel-electric submarines could be more than a decade away after Taiwanese navy officials told their US counterparts that funding is three years away," the weekly says.

The US has not built conventional submarines for more than 40 years and designing an entirely new one would be prohibitively expensive without foreign participation, Jane's said.

It had been hoped that the first submarines could join the Taiwanese navy in 2010 at the earliest.

But a US naval official told the weekly that if money is not available until fiscal year 2006, the process of tendering and selection would push the programme out to a 2013-14 delivery date.

The US navy would also be looking for 300-350 million US dollars up front to start the programme but Taiwanese legislators may baulk at the amount without knowing what kind of submarine they are receiving, the weekly said.

"US naval officials note that until Taiwan provides the US with formal assurances that sufficient funds for the multi-billion-dollar deal have been secured, any US military programme to design the boats will be left in limbo," the weekly says.

Bush in April 2001 approved the sale of eight conventional submarines to Taiwan as part of Washington's most comprehensive arms package to the island since 1992.

WAR.WIRE