Chen denies arms race with China

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has offered to talk with Chinese leaders in an article to be published in Jane's Defence Weekly's July 11 issue, saying Taiwan has no intention of pursuing an arms race with China and hopes to make a greater contribution to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

The president said in the same article that for cross-strait talks to resume, Beijing must first respect the democratic obligations of the government of Taiwan and set aside the dispute over sovereignty.

The great majority of the people of Taiwan are still vehemently opposed to Beijing's "one country, two systems" formula, he said.

Repeating his willingness to talk with the Chinese leadership and discuss any issue, including Beijing's "one China" principle, Chen wrote that the upcoming annual APEC meeting this October in Shanghai will provide an excellent opportunity to restart constructive cross-strait dialogue if only he is able to meet with Chinese President Jiang Zemin (江澤民).

Contrary to belief, Chen said, Taiwan is not pursuing an arms race with China, adding that Taiwan's arms procurements are nothing more than a responsible defensive move against an existing threat and are intended solely to ensure national security.

As a step toward improving mutual trust between Taiwan and China, Chen repeated his suggestion for the establishment of confidence and security-building measures to increase transparency, establish communication hotlines and promote personnel exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

He stressed that the people of Taiwan hope to expand the scope of contacts with China within a cross-strait relationship based on peace and mutual respect. If Beijing drops its military threat against Taiwan, Chen wrote, there will be no need for the country to purchase such weapons as advanced destroyers or submarines.