Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) visited the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) Washington Headquarters and met with senior US officials to discuss arms procurements during her 10-day trip to the US, she said today.
Lu ends her trip tomorrow, having visited Boston, New York, Washington and Maryland.
During her time in Washington, she met with Ingrid Larson, managing director of the AIT’s Washington office, and senior officials from the US Department of State and Department of Defense.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
Taiwan greatly needs a strong and dependable ally such as the US, Lu said, likening arms procurement to “buying insurance.”
For more than 80 years, the US has supported Taiwan in military affairs and diplomacy as it faces continuous threats from neighboring powers, she said.
She cited a poll showing that as many as 77 percent of Taiwanese support continuously developing Taiwan-US relations.
Weapons purchases must be finalized as soon as possible, though within the limits of the national economy, Lu said.
Procurements must also involve the most advanced and effective equipment to ensure Taiwan’s defense capabilities, she added.
National defense is a bipartisan consensus, but the government must first gain clear strategic recommendations and data from the US, she said.
As opposition parties in the Legislative Yuan have repeatedly blocked the passage of President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed NT$1.25 billion (US$39.15 million) special defense budget, Washington has been closely monitoring debates in Taiwan surrounding arms procurements.
Lu’s party, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), has counter-proposed an NT$380 billion budget to fund eight weapons sales approved by the US in December last year.
Lu reportedly opposed the KMT’s proposal more than once, and said that her latest trip to the US sought to dispel doubts that she was “anti-American,” as a pro-US versus pro-China divide has emerged within the party.
Meanwhile, KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) has proposed a trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
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