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LEGISLATURE URGED TO PUT ARMS PROCUREMENT PACKAGE ON AGENDA

Central News Agency

2005-05-23 21:20:33

    Taipei, May 23 (CNA) Minister of National Defense Lee Jye made a desperate appeal Monday, urging the Legislative Yuan's procedure committee to include a bill regarding a massive arms procurement package on its agenda.

    The opposition-controlled legislature has long blocked the bill from being deliberated. As the present legislative session will end at the end of this month, Lee again pushed the legislative procedure committee to list the bill on its agenda at its Tuesday meeting as the first step to addressing the problems involved with the package.

    The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has cut the budget for the procurement package from a high of NT$610.8 billion to some NT$480 billion, but opposition lawmakers have still refused to begin screening it due mainly to a lingering political standoff between the ruling and opposition camps. "National defense should supercede partisan considerations; otherwise, our national interest and stability will be at risk," Lee said.

    According to Lee, many opposition opinions about the MND-proposed arms procurement package can be discussed only after the bill formally enters the legislative procedure. "For instance, if the opposition parties want the procurement budget to be further cut, this can be discussed by the legislative defense committee," Lee said.

    In the face of China's accelerated military buildup and modernization, Lee said, Taiwan must increase its defense investment. "Otherwise, our survival could be jeopardized," he warned.

    The package mainly covers three items to be purchased from the United States, including eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

    While fielding questions at a legislative defense committee meeting earlier in the day, Lee said the United States has notified the MND that it might sell the 12 P-3C aircraft to other countries if Taiwan fails to give it a definite reply on the deal by the end of this month.

(By Sofia Wu)

ENDITEM/J