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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


September 2005 Taiwan Special Weapons News

  • U.S. MIGHT COOPERATE WITH SPAIN TO BUILD SUBS FOR TAIWAN: LE MONDE CNA 30 Sep 2005 -- The United States might cooperate with Spain to build submarines to sell to Taiwan, the French newspaper Le Monde reported Friday.
  • MA DENIES HE WILL HELP SPECIAL ARMS BUDGET BILL PASS CNA 30 Sep 2005 -- The chairman of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) denied speculation Friday that he is prepared to let the long-stalled special arms procurement budget bill be listed on the legislative agenda for review.
  • PATRIOT III PURCHASE SHOULDN'T BE AFFECTED BY REFERENDUM: OFFICIAL CNA 29 Sep 2005 -- The purchase of Patriot III anti-missile batteries was approved in 1998 during President Lee Teng-hui's term of office and therefore should not be affected by the 2004 referendum, Deputy Defense Minister Tsai Ming-hsien said Thursday.
  • LAWMAKERS DEBATE VICE DEFENCE CHIEF'S REFERENDUM LOGIC CNA 29 Sep 2005 -- Both ruling and opposition lawmakers challenged Vice Minister of National Defense Tsai Ming-hsien's argument Thursday that even though the 2004 arms purchase referendum did not receive enough voter participation to be considered valid, the government can still propose a budget for buying anti-missile equipment.
  • PURCHASING SUBS FROM E.U. 'NOT IMPOSSIBLE': ENVOY CNA 28 Sep 2005 -- Taiwan's top envoy in Brussels said Wednesday at the Legislative Yuan that it is possible that Taiwan could turn to the European Union to try to purchase submarines for its military, but he added that "this possibility is very small."
  • IT'S PATHETIC ONLY U.S. DARES HELP TAIWAN GET NEW WEAPONS: OFFICIAL CNA 28 Sep 2005 -- Deputy Defence Minister Huo Shou-yeh told the legislature's National Defense Committee Wednesday that it is "quite pathetic" that only Washington "dares to help Taiwan acquire military weapons."
  • OPPOSITION HEADS KNOW ARMS PROCUREMENT PACKAGE HAS TO PASS: PRESIDENT CNA 28 Sep 2005 -- Visiting Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday that a long-stalled arms procurement package has to be passed in the end, and opposition leaders and the United States know this "clearly."
  • DEFENSE MINISTRY DEFENDS BUDGET FOR SUBMARINES CNA 28 Sep 2005 -- The Ministry of National Defense defended its budget for eight submarines in a report to the Legislative Yuan Wednesday, calling the price of NT$288 billion (US$8.65 billion) reasonable.
  • China Calls on Rival Taiwan to Make Further Concessions VOA 28 Sep 2005 -- China's communist leaders are calling on rival Taiwan to open more channels of communication and trade with the mainland.
  • RESOLVE TO UPGRADE SELF-DEFENSE CRITICAL TO U.S. TIES: ENVOY CNA 27 Sep 2005 -- Taiwan must prove its resolve to upgrading its self-defense capability in its engagements with the United States, the nation's top representative to Washington, D.C. said Monday.
  • TAIWAN INCREASING MILITARY EXCHANGES WITH CENTRAL AMERICA: MND CNA 26 Sep 2005 -- Taiwan's military has increased exchanges with its counterparts in Central America since the Ministry of National Defense (MND) was invited to take part in the Central American Military Forum in April this year, Defense Minister Lee Jye said Monday.
  • MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE TO BE TRIMMED TO 16 MONTHS FROM 2006 CNA 26 Sep 2005 -- The mandatory military service period for local conscripts will be cut to 16 months from the current 18 months from Jan. 1, 2006, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye said Monday.
  • U.S. QUESTIONS TAIWAN'S WILL TO DEFEND ITSELF: VICE DEFENSE MINISTER CNA 26 Sep 2005 -- The United States has raised questions about Taiwan's will to defend itself because of the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan's repeated pulling of the plug on a budget bill for the purchase of a major arms package from the U.S., Vice Defense Minister Michael Tsai said Monday.
  • TENS OF THOUSANDS TAKE TO THE STREETS TO BACK ARMS PROCUREMENT CNA 25 Sep 2005 -- An estimated 50,000 local people, mostly from pro-independence groups, marched through major Taipei streets Sunday to back an arms procurement package aimed at fending off China but stonewalled by the opposition-controlled legislature.
  • PRESIDENT QUESTIONS RATIONALE BEHIND OPPOSITION TO ARMS PACKAGE CNA 25 Sep 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian said in Santo Domingo Saturday he is hopeful that the opposition "pan-blue alliance" of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP) can stop its stonewalling of a long-stalled arms procurement package from being debated in the legislature.
  • PROCUREMENT PROJECT: KMT CNA 25 Sep 2005 -- Opposition Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou claimed Sunday that it is President Chen Shui-bian and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party that attach no importance to the much-talked-about arms procurement project rather than the opposition.
  • ARMS PACKAGE MERITS FREE, RATIONAL DEBATE IN LEGISLATURE: SPEAKER CNA 25 Sep 2005 -- Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said Sunday that the long-stalled arms procurement package deserves free and rational discussion in the legislature.
  • PRESIDENT CALLS FOR SETUP OF CROSS-STRAIT PERMANENT PEACE MECHANISM CNA 25 Sep 2005 -- Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian called on both sides of the Taiwan Strait Saturday to jointly seek an interaction mechanism aimed at stepping up cross-strait permanent peace.
  • BUILD UP DEFENSES TO COUNTER CHINA'S RISE: DEFENSE OFFICIAL CNA 24 Sep 2005 -- Facing China's agressive military buildup, Taiwan's should strengthen its defenses to counter China's aggressive military buildup, Vice Minister of National Defense Michael M. Tsai said Saturday.
  • TAIWAN MUST HEED U.S. PENTAGON OFFICIAL'S WARNING: DEFENSE MINISTER CNA 23 Sep 2005 -- Minister of National Defense Lee Jye said Friday that Taiwan should take heed of a U.S. Pentagon official's stern criticism of the limited growth in the island's national defense budget.
  • TAIWAN ASKED TO INVEST MORE IN NATIONAL DEFENSE CNA 22 Sep 2005 -- Two former ranking U.S. State Department officials on Wednesday said that they hope that Taiwan can do more in its national defense investment and that its legislature can pass the arms procurement bill as soon as possible.
  • CHINA PULLING WOOL OVER TAIWAN PUBLIC'S EYES: MND CNA 22 Sep 2005 -- China has been pulling the wool over the eyes of the Taiwan public, deceiving them into believing that it has turned soft toward Taiwan, a Ministry of National Defense (MND) official claimed Thursday.
  • LEGISLATURE URGED TO DELIBERATE ARMS PACKAGE S00N CNA 22 Sep 2005 -- An official from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) called on the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan Thursday to put an arms procurement draft bill on the legislative agenda for deliberation as soon as possible, saying that the ministry will accept the screening result.
  • U.S. HELP NOT PART OF ROC MILITARY COMBAT PLANS:MND CNA 21 Sep 2005 -- Any possible help from the United States has never been a part of the Republic of China military's combat plans, a senior Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said Wednesday.
  • MND: TAIWAN TO SEEK RECIPROCITY IN ARMS DEALS WITH U.S. CNA 21 Sep 2005 -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has asked the United States to make reciprocal technology transfers or purchases in its arms dealings with Taiwan, a visiting Republic of China official said Tuesday.
  • MILITARY MAINTENANCE BUDGET REDUCTION A CONCERN: PFP LAWMAKER CNA 19 Sep 2005 -- An opposition People First Party lawmaker on Monday questioned the government's policy of spending less money on the maintenance of military equipment as "this policy will place
  • U.S.-TAIWAN NATIONAL DEFENSE INDUSTRY CONFERENCE OPENS CNA 19 Sep 2005 -- The fourth U.S.-Taiwan national defense industry conference opened in San Diego Monday, with more than 100 representatives from the United States and Taiwan attending.
  • U.S. CONGRESSMEN TO VISIT OVER ARMS PROCUREMENT PACKAGE CNA 17 Sep 2005 -- A group of U.S. congressmen has tentatively decided to visit Taiwan next month to exchange views with government officials and legislators on the country's long-stalled arms procurement package from the United States.
  • FM THANKS FOREIGN LEADERS FOR SPEAKING FOR TAIWAN IN U.N. CNA 17 Sep 2005 -- Foreign Minister Tan Sun Chen thanked the leaders of nine allies and Fiji Saturday for speaking out for Taiwan at the United Nations.
  • STALLED ARMS BILL A MATTER OF CONCERN TO U.S.: STATE DEP'T ADVISER CNA 16 Sep 2005 -- A senior adviser to the U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs recently reiterated Washington's serious concern over the long-stalled arms procurement bill in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan and the minimal increase in the island's defense budget over the past few years.
  • U.N. COMMITMENT TO PEACE, SECURITY QUESTIONABLE: MOFA HEAD CNA 14 Sep 2005 -- Minister of Foreign Affairs Tan Sun Chen expressed regret Wednesday at Taiwan's 13th consecutive failure in its bid to enter the United Nations and questioned the U.N.'s commitment to world peace and security.
  • TAIWAN CANNOT OPERATE NORMALLY WITHOUT U.N. MEMBERSHIP: ENVOY CNA 14 Sep 2005 -- Taiwan's top envoy in New York City stated in a radio interview Tuesday the difficulties that the nation has experienced in its bid to join the United Nations, saying that the government cannot operate normally without membership of international organizations.
  • ARMS PROCUREMENT PROJECT STONEWALLED FOR 28TH TIME CNA 13 Sep 2005 -- The opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan blocked a long-stalled arms procurement package for the 28th time Tuesday, refusing to allow it to be put on the legislative agenda.
  • U.S. SUGGESTS TAIWAN RAISE DEFENSE BUDGET TO 3.5% OF GDP: PAPER CNA 13 Sep 2005 -- The United States has suggested that Taiwan raise its defense budget to 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to prevent the cross-Taiwan Strait military balance from tilting further in favor of China, a Japanese economic daily reported Tuesday.
  • TWO SOLDIERS KILLED IN EXPLOSION AT WEAPONRY FACTORY IN KAOHSIUNG CNA 09 Sep 2005 -- Two soldiers were killed in an explosion at a weaponry factory in the southern Taiwan county of Kaohsiung Friday morning, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.
  • DEATH TOLL OF WEAPONRY FACTORY BLAST RISES TO 3 CNA 09 Sep 2005 -- The death toll from an explosion at a weaponry factory in Kaohsiung County Friday morning rose to three, the Ministry of National Defense said.
  • KMT LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS OPPOSES REVIEWING ARMS BILL CNA 08 Sep 2005 -- The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan refused Thursday to review the arms procurement bill put forward by the Cabinet
  • ARMS DEAL PROBLEM SHOULD FIRST BE SETTLED BY CABINET: KMT CHAIRMAN CNA 07 Sep 2005 -- Opposition Kuomintang Chairman Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday that the Cabinet should first settle the problems posed in the aftermath of the 2004 referendum if it wants to push for the passage of a long-stalled arms procurement bill in the Legislative Yuan.
  • GOVERNMENT OWES EXPLANATION FOR PURCHASE OF ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEM CNA 07 Sep 2005 -- The government should deal with a failed proposal in the country's first nationwide referendum before discussing the budget for the procurement of Patriot PAC-III anti-missile batteries, Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said Wednesday.
  • NO KMT-PFP AGREEMENT ON ARMS PURCHASE BILL IN LEGISLATURE CNA 07 Sep 2005 -- The chairmen of the nation's two largest opposition parties failed to adopt a joint legislative strategy on how to handle the government's special budget bill for buying advanced weapons from the United States Wednesday.
  • TSU URGES PRESIDENT TO TALK WITH OPPOSITION OVER ARMS BILL CNA 07 Sep 2005 -- As the ruling-opposition deadlock over a government proposal to buy key weaponry from the United States looks likely to linger on after a meeting of the leaders of the nation's two largest opposition parties, a minor party called on President Chen Shui-bian Wednesday to personally talk with them in a bid to resolve the impasse.
  • ARMS PROCUREMENT HAD BEEN DECIDED BEFORE REFERENDUM: SPOKESMAN CNA 07 Sep 2005 -- The procurement plan for three items of advanced arms, which is pending approval by the Legislative Yuan, had been decided before the first nationwide referendum held alongside the March 20, 2004 presidential election, Executive Yuan spokesman Cho Jung-tai said Wednesday.
  • LEGISLATURE CONTINUES TO REJECT ARMS PROCUREMENT BILL CNA 06 Sep 2005 -- The opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan continued to stonewall a long-stalled arms procurement package Tuesday, with the legislative procedure committee refusing to put it on the legislative agenda.
  • FRIGATE IN ANNUAL DRILL CNA 06 Sep 2005 -- As an ROC submarine successfully torpedoed a target vessel in the sea southwest of Taiwan Tuesday, ROC Navy Commander-in-Chief Chen Pang-chih stood up and applauded the roughly 800 officers and sailors participating in this year's "Whale Hunting Torpedo Firing Exercise."
  • PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON OPPOSITION BLOCKING ARMS PROCUREMENT BILL CNA 06 Sep 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian expressed deep regret Tuesday over continued efforts by opposition parties to block an arms procurement draft bill, saying that opposition legislators have boycotted the bill more than 26 times.
  • PFP WON'T LET ARMS BILL PASS LEGISLATURE'S PROCEDURE COMMITTEE CNA 04 Sep 2005 -- With a new session of the Legislative Yuan approaching, the nation's second largest opposition People First Party (PFP) said Sunday it is still opposed to putting the government's arms purchase budget bill on the legislative agenda.
  • CHINA PREPARING FOR NUCLEAR WAR WITH U.S. OVER TAIWAN: DISSIDENT CNA 02 Sep 2005 -- A Chinese dissident has warned that China is preparing for nuclear war with the United States over Taiwan and that a split in the Beijing leadership might lead to a conflict in the near future, according to a report carried by the Washington Times Thursday.
  • INGRATIATING CULTURE 'NON-EXISTENT' IN ROC ARMY: PRESIDENT CNA 02 Sep 2005 -- President Chen Shui-bian claimed to the public Friday that there is no "individual heroism" or "ingratiating culture" in the armed forces of the Republic of China.
  • CHINA TRYING TO FORCE TAIWAN TO GIVE UP SOVEREIGNTY: PRESIDENT CNA 02 Sep 2005 -- China's so-called "united front" strategy, with which China has been threatening Taiwan militarily while trying to divide Taiwan society, is aimed at forcing Taiwan to give up its sovereignty, President Chen Shui-bian claimed Friday.
  • CHINA AGAINST TAIWAN'S INCLUSION IN ANY NATION'S MISSILE DEFENSE CNA 01 Sep 2005 -- Beijing opposes the inclusion of Taiwan in any nation's missile defense system and does not support those countries that want to supply such systems to the island, a ranking Chinese official for arms control affairs said Thursday.



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