The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should sign a peace agreement before 2008 to put an end to the costly cross-strait arms races, a lawmaker from DPP said yesterday.
Quoting statistics released by the Swedish International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Legislator Chien Hsi-kai (簡錫瑎) said Taiwan was the world's largest conventional weapon importing country between 1996 and 2000, while China ranked fifth in the same tally.
According to Chien, Taiwan has stayed on the top of the world's major arms buyers list three times in similar SIPRI reports issued in recent years.
In 1999, Chien said, Taiwan's arms procurement bill reached US$7.89 billion, accounting for 2.8 percent of its GDP, while China's spending made up 2.1 percent of its GDP to reach US$21.1 billion.
Chien also said that Taiwan's arms purchase spending declined to US$7.22 billion in 2000, but China's bill surged to US$23 billion.
In his view, Chien said the two sides should stop the arms race and use their arms procurement funds to finance their major economic development projects for the well-being of their people.
Chien said he is hopeful that all peace-loving people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait would stand up to call for an end to the cross-strait arms race and establish a mechanism to ensure regional peace.
"As China is seeking the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games, I think that now is a good time to push the two sides to sign a peace accord to halt any further arms race," Chien said.
RSS