Taipei - The United States has assured Taiwan it has not
frozen an arms package worth 12 billion dollars after reports last
month of an alleged freeze, the Central News Agency (CNA) said
Wednesday.
CNA, in a dispatch from Washington DC, quoted visiting Taiwan
Parliament Speaker Wang Jin-pyng as saying the US government is still
going through the interagency review process.
Reports last month said the US had frozen sales of weapons because
newly-elected President Ma Ying-jeou is shopping elsewhere in order
to not jeopardize recently-warmed Taipei-Beijing ties.
Wang flew to the US last week after President Ma had reasserted
that arms for defence purposes are vital to Taiwan's security and
improved ties with Beijing will not halt the purchase of weapons.
CNA, in a separate story, said Wednesday that President George W
Bush will notify China of the up-coming arms sales to Taiwan during
his visit next month to attend the Beijing Olympics' opening ceremony.
Quoting an unnamed source, CNA reported Bush will tell Chinese
President Hu Jintao that Washington will provide Taiwan with weapons
in line with the Taiwan Relations Act but is likely to delay the sale
until after the Beijing Olympics.
The US dropped Taiwan to recognize China in 1979 but signed the
Taiwan Relations Act, pledging to continue to sell defence weapons to
Taiwan.
In 2004, President Bush approved an arms sales package to Taiwan
that includes 66 F-16C/D fighter jets; 30 Apache Longbow attack
helicopters; 60 Black Hawk helicopters; eight diesel electric
submarines; and four Raytheon-manufactured Patriot Advanced
Capability-3 air defence missile systems.
Taiwan's parliament passed the budget for the arms purchase in
2007, but the US has been since delaying the arms sale for
unspecified reasons.
China, which sees Taiwan as its breakaway province, has demanded
the US stop arms sales to the island saying the arms sales will
embolden Taiwan to seek independence.
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