PRESIDENT WILLING TO BRIEF LEGISLATURE ON ARMS PACKAGE
ROC Central News Agency
2005-10-06 13:46:35
Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday he is willing to expound on his administration's long-stalled arms procurement package in the Legislative Yuan to win opposition support for all relevant bills.
Chen made the remarks while addressing the opening of the "Shih Ming-teh Chair" at National Taiwan University's Political Science Department.
Noting that "investment in national defense is tantamount to investment in peace, " Chen said Taiwan must beef up its defense capability to ensure lasting peace across the Taiwan Strait.
Chen said it is his earnest hope that the opposition-controlled legislature can pass bills related to the government's plan to procure three big-ticket weaponry items from the United States.
For more than a year, the opposition "pan-blue alliance" of the Kuomintang and the People First Party has used its slim majority in the legislature to stonewall two bills regarding the robust arms procurement package for various reasons, including political bickering with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and fears of sparking a cross-strait arms race and squeezing funds for other national development plans.
Listed in the procurement package are eight diesel-electric submarines, six Patriot PAC-III anti-missile batteries and a squadron of 12 anti-submarine P-3C aircraft.
(By Sofia Wu)
enditem/Li
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