To maintain the military balance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the US agreed in April to sell US$5 billion worth of weaponry to Taiwan, the largest arms sale to the nation since the 1992 sale of 150 F-16 A/B fighter planes.
The deal provided Taiwan with long-desired items, such as diesel-powered submarines and Kidd-class destroyers.
But, for fear of enraging China, the Bush administration refused to sell Taiwan advanced AEGIS-equipped destroyers, which had been requested at arms talks in April.
Nevertheless, the submarines and Kidd-class destroyers aroused a lot of publicity and strong protests from Beijing, which is afraid of losing its naval superiority.
The main problem with the deal has been finding someone to make the eight submarines. The US no longer makes diesel-powered submarines and foreign builders in Germany, Sweden and Holland have been unwilling to fulfill the order.
Despite eight months of searching, the US has yet to find a country willing to make the submarines.
The navy expects to receive the Kidd-class destroyers on schedule and hopes to use them to project its capabilities on the open seas.
But some lawmakers on the Legislative Yuan's defense committee are still opposed to the deal.
The lawmakers are unhappy the four destroyers are not new and are too large for many ports to accommodate.
The destroyers will cost a total of US$800 million. The navy plans to make a budget proposal for the deal next year.
The annual sale of arms to Taiwan was started more than 20 years ago. In April, US President George W. Bush said he would prefer to deal with the arms sales on a case-by-case basis to avoid the months of increased tension with China that this year's sale generated. But Congress promptly approved legislation that would keep the annual ritual intact.
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