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Minister of defense says a strong army builds confidence

Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) yesterday said the current discussion of developing confidence-building measures with China would not affect the ministry's determination to strenthen the nation's defenses.

"If Taiwan and China really started to discuss the measures, it would take many years. And during that period, the ministry wouldn't change its plan to enhance Taiwan's military," Lee said.

He said if Taiwan stopped building up its military, the country would have no leverage to negotiate with China, and that was "why Chinese leaders treated Taiwan's opposition leaders so well on their trip to China -- because Taiwan has actual strength."

If the military didn't develop its defenses, China would not pay respect to the Taiwanese, he said, adding that the arms package was needed to bolster Taiwan's defenses, and that the ministry would not adjust the arms bill.

Developing national defenses was not for fighting with China, but to prevent war, he said, adding that during the Cold War, both the US and the Soviet Union destroyed missiles only after agreements had been reached.

Lee said, however, "if the government sent me to discuss the measures, I would go."

He said the ministry mentioned the measures with China in its 2004 white paper, which divided the initiatives into three stages. The first concerned low-level military exchanges. The second aimed at withdrawing or destroying missiles and creating "non-military areas." The final stage was to sign a peace agreement, officially ending the rivalry with China.

He said China must show very good intentions in terms of its military, and then the negotiations could continue. Lee said that each stage of the measures would take a long time, and that the Taiwanese should be very patient.

"China might use a so-called `peaceful offensive' to divide the Taiwanese and weaken Taiwan's defenses, so we must be united about it and be very careful," he added.
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