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U.S. has not frozen arms sales to Taiwan: speaker

ROC Central News Agency

Washington, D.C., July 29 (CNA) Visiting Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said Tuesday in Washington, D.C. that the U.S. government has not decided to freeze arms sales to Taiwan.

In a speech delivered at the Heritage Foundation, Wang said he was reassured the day before in meetings with U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense officials that the U.S. will continue to provide Taiwan with defensive weapon systems under the auspices of the Taiwan Relations Act to help maintain Taiwan's stability and safeguard peace and security in the Asian-Pacific region.

Wang urged Taiwan's people not to be "fooled by rumors" that Washington had considered freezing congressional notification of potential new arms sales to Taiwan for the duration of the George W. Bush administration.

Many news outlets reported that such a decision had been made, dating as far back as late last year, in part because of fears of upsetting Beijing and frustration over political wrangling in Taiwan over the arms package that Washington approved in 2001.

Wang pushed the U.S. in his address to proceed with Taiwan's new defensive weapon procurement requests as soon as possible because of their importance to Taiwan's national security as well as stability and the balance of power in East Asia.

He said he was told by U.S. officials that the case is still in the pipeline in different agencies under the U.S. administration.

"There are probably some differences among U.S. officials, but I believe a consensus will be reached shortly," Wang predicted.

Meanwhile, Wang said an aide of Republican presidential candidate John McCain gave him a letter from the senator that he hoped would be handed to President Ma Ying-jeou in person.

Noting that both McCain and Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, have expressed wishes to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations if elected.

Wang added that Obama's aides had sent a similar letter to Ma in May.

After his address at the Heritage Foundation, Wang was asked whether his relationship with President Ma is harmonious. The legislative speaker said he fully supports Ma's governance since both of them share a common philosophy of "no unification, no independence and no military conflict" in managing Taiwan's future and cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

Wang noted, however, that as the leader of the Legislative Yuan, it is his duty to play a supervisory role over the administration.

Wang, accompanied by his wife and several aides, will continue to visit U.S. public agencies and think tanks based in Washington before departing for home Aug. 1. (By Chiehyu Lin and Deborah Kuo) ENDITEM/ls