U.S. OFFICIAL URGES TAIWAN TO STRENGTHEN DEFENSES
Central News Agency
2005-07-18 23:03:12
Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Leaders of Taiwan's political parties should set aside partisan bickering and strengthen Taiwan's defense capability, boost economic momentum and maintain stability with China, a U.S. official posted to Taiwan said Monday.
David J. Keegan, deputy director of the Taipei Office of the American Institute in Taiwan, warned at a forum organized by the Foundation on International & Cross-strait Studies that China's defense outlay, estimated by the U.S. at between US$50 billion and US$70 billion in 2003, ranked third in the world, behind only the United States and Russia.
Facing China's military build-up, Keegan said, Taiwan has to maintain a defense capability strong enough to deter any military adventure by Beijing.
Instead of compromising the country's economic and political development, a strong defense capability might be the basis of this development, he said. Taiwan cannot negotiate with Beijing from a position of strength if Beijing knows it can easily compel Taiwan to go along with it by force, Keegan went on.
The No. 2 man at AIT said he is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of contact between Taiwan and China, as ties across the Taiwan Strait are less tense than they were a year ago and are moving in a positive direction.
Noting that Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou was elected Saturday as the new chief of the opposition Kuomintang, to the surprise of many political pundits, Keegan said the challenge for the leaders of Taiwan's political parties is to subordinate their partisan interests to the nation's interests.
He made the comments against the background that the government's request for budget to purchase a package of arms from the United States has been mired in the opposition-controlled legislature for years.
(By Maubo Chang)
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