SINGAPORE, Oct 11 (Reuter) - Singapore bought a used submarine last month, not because of any regional anxiety over China's arms buildup but because it was cheap, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said in comments published on Wednesday.Singapore announced on September 23 that it was buying a second-hand submarine from Sweden as part of a training package in submarine warfare. The training scheme, offered by Sweden, starts next year.
Lee said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times syndicate's "Global Viewpoint" that every armed force believes in upgrading.
"Here is the Swedish submarine," he said. "The economy is doing well and it is a cheap sub. Its purchase will still be within the five percent of GDP (gross domestic product) assigned to defence. So, why not use it for some training?"
The comments by Lee, Singapore's prime minister from 1959 until 1990, were published in the Straits Times newspaper.
"As to Chinese power, no one in this region believes it can sock it out with China," he said.
In the same interview, Lee reiterated Singapore's stance that Washington must respect China's national unity and tread carefully on the issues of Taiwan and Tibet.
"If the U.S. interferes with the unity of China, that is a hostile act," he said. "They will respond, and damn the consequences."
Asked how Washington and Beijing might patch up their strained relationship, Lee said: "The U.S. must simply accept that Tibet is part of China, that Taiwan is part of China. It should stop challenging that."
