NO CHANGE IN U.S. ARMS PROCUREMENT PROJECT: OFFICIALS
ROC Central News Agency
2006-05-08 17:59:53
Taipei, May 8 (CNA) There is no change in the government's plan to purchase a package of arms from the United States, senior officials reaffirmed Monday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Ying-mao Kau made the remarks during alegislative interpellation session when lawmakers asked about media reports that President Chen Shui-bian, currently on a two-nation Latin America visit, might "take drastic action, " including scrapping a long-stalled project to buy arms from the United States, to show his displeasure over the U.S. snub on his stopover request en route to Paraguay, the first leg of his visit.
Chen had wanted to transit through New York or San Francisco, but the U.S. offered only Honolulu or Anchorage. Chen later chose to fly via Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, and Amsterdam.
Kau said that using arms procurement as leverage against the U.S. is "too imaginative, " adding that "opposition to arms procurement is not the government's current policy."
Deputy Minister of National Defense (MND) Chu Kai-sheng also said the arms procurement plan stands and pointed out that the media reports are "nothing but speculation."
The arms procurement package refers to six Patriot PAC-III anti-missile batteries, eight diesel-electric submarines and a squadron of 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft. The package, however, has been stalled in the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan since it was first submitted by the Executive Yuan two years ago.
(By Lilian Wu)
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