Taiwan needs more weapons

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Taiwan needs more weapons: defense chief

STAFF WRITER, WITH AFP
Monday, Feb 08, 2010, Page 3

Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) said he would seek more weapons from the US to give Taiwan greater confidence in pushing for rapprochement with China.

The remarks came as Beijing and Washington are locked in an escalating row over a large US arms sale to Taiwan.

China has responded furiously with a raft of reprisals, saying it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington and impose sanctions on US firms involved in the US$6.4 billion arms package.

But Kao defended the arms sale on Saturday, saying the ­package would help stabilize the Taiwan Strait.

“The US has kept providing Taiwan with defensive weapons according to the Taiwan Relations Act, enabling Taiwan to be more confident in pressing for reconciliation with the Chinese mainland,” the Military News Agency quoted him as saying.

Speaking at a security conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎) said US arms sales to Taiwan violated international relations standards and would provoke a reaction from Beijing.

In response, Premier Wu ­Den-yih (吳敦義) ­said Beijing’s missile buildup had prompted Taiwan to seek more defensive weapons.

“It’s just like two people trying for reconciliation. If one of them sticks a gun in his waist, it would be weird, don’t you think?” Wu said in an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix satellite TV on Saturday.


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