Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday urged
the United States to sell more modern weapons systems to Taiwan to
maintain the military balance across the Taiwan Strait.
Ma made the call during a video conference with US academics to
commemorate the 30th anniversary of Washington's signing the Taiwan
Relations Act (TRA).
The US Congress passed TRA to maintain military, economics and
cultural ties with Taiwan in 1979 as it switched diplomatic
recognition from Taiwan to China. The TRA pledges the US would
continue to sell defensive arms to Taiwan, despite strong protests
from China which regards Taiwan as its breakaway province.
Ma said that Taiwan recently made requests for seven kinds of
weaponry from the US, including F-16C/Ds and the feasibility study
for making conventional submarines for Taiwan.
'The purchase of these arms is necessary in view of the sharp
changes in the military balance across the Taiwan Strait and for
Taiwan's security,' he said.
F-16C/Ds would replace the F-16 A/Bs and other less sophisticated
warplanes in the Taiwan Air Force, he noted.
Ma did not comment on press reports that the US government has
shelved the F-16C/D sale and building subs for Taiwan for fear of
offending China, but told the US that such worries are unfounded.
China says it wants peaceful unification with Taiwan, which is
now recognized by 23 countries, but would recover Taiwan by force if
Taipei seeks formal independence from China, indefinitely delays
unification talks or if unrest breaks out on the island.
The video linkup conference, in which Ma also answered questions
from US scholars attending the conference in Washington D.C., was
held by the US think tank Centre for Strategic & International
Studies.
USA
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