Taiwan's leaders yesterday expressed gratitude to the US government for committing itself to new arms sales to Taiwan and emphasized that Taiwan had been forced to purchase advanced weapons by the growing military threat represented by China.
The Presidential Office yesterday issued a news release in which it expressed its thanks to the US government, saying that the arms sales decision would further enhance Taiwan's ability to defend itself and promote not only the stability of the Asia Pacific region but also the reopening of dialogue between Taiwan and China.
The Presidential Office also said in its news release that it expected China to understand that Taiwan's defense policy is only a response to China's growing military threat, and urged Chinese leaders to remove all military forces from China's southeastern coast and begin a peaceful dialogue with Taiwan.
The news release said that arms purchases were not the only means of defending Taiwan and stressed that a true, permanent peace for both sides of the Taiwan Strait could only be realized by constructive talk and a normalization of relations.
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (
Commenting after the meeting, the president said "I want to thank the US government, Congress and our other friends for their concern and efforts regarding the balance of military power in the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan's security."
He said that the new arms sales would enhance the navy's underwater operations but stressed that Taiwan had no desire to enter an arms race with China.
"The purpose of the government's purchase of advanced defensive weapons is not to start an arms race with China but simply to protect Taiwan's democracy and to maintain the security of the Asia-Pacific region and peace in the Taiwan Strait," the president said.
"Only if Taiwan's security is completely protected, can all the people of Taiwan have the confidence to communicate with China," the president added.
Chen stressed that China has raised its military expenditure, increased its armaments, and deployed missile launchers near Taiwan, which has driven Taiwan to purchase the advanced defensive weapons.
"The Chinese communists should stop threatening the island and remove all missile launchers so that Taiwan can reduce its military budget to focus on economic development," the president told his guests.
After annual US-Taiwan arms talks concluded Tuesday in Washington, the US said it would sell Taiwan submarines, decommissioned destroyers and submarine-hunting planes, among other advanced weapons. It was the most robust arms package in nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, US President George W. Bush yesterday announced that the US-Taiwan arms sales talks would no longer take place on an annual basis but on an "as-needed basis." The government reacted to the news by letting it be known that it believes that Washington will always provide sufficient defensive weapons to Taiwan.
"Whether the meeting is held periodically or not will not influence Taiwan's security," Secretary General to the President Yu Shyi-kun said. "We believe that Taiwan and the US will henceforth be closer than ever on the issue of arms sales."
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