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The China Post/Asia News Network January 31, 2010 MA welcomes US arms The United States has announced a US$6.4 billion (S$9 billion) package of weapons, including PAC-3 missiles, to be sold to Taiwan, drawing strong protest from China. China yesterday reiterated its stern objection to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and suspended all military exchanges with the United States. But President Ma Ying-jeou, who was in Los Angeles at the time of the announcement, said that with the weapons, Taiwan will be more confident of defending itself, which will facilitate the development of cross-strait ties, according to his spokesman Tony Wang. President Ma also said Taiwan has always wanted to maintain good relationships with the United States. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomed the U.S. government's arms sale announcement, which it described as clear evidence of good Taipei-Washington ties. The Obama administration notified the U.S. Congress Friday of the arms package, which includes 114 PAC-3 missiles and technical support, worth US$2.82 billion, and 60 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters, worth US$3.1 billion. The United States is also selling Taiwan two Osprey Class mine hunting ships; 12 ATM-84L and RTM-84L Harpoon Block II Telemetry missiles; 35 multifunctional information distribution systems low volume terminals (MIDS/LVT 1); and 25 MIDS On Ships Terminals. The sale will take effect if the U.S. Congress does not voice any objections within 30 days of the notification. But the package does not include the diesel-powered submarines or the F-16C/D jet fighters that Taiwan also sought to buy. A MOFA spokesman said the Obama administration has often reiterated its intentions to fulfill its obligation under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA), which commits the United States to provide the island with defensive weapons. Taiwan's defense ministry also issued a statement welcoming the U.S. government's decision to sell the weapons under the TRA framework. It said the move will boost Taiwan's confidence in its efforts to promote cross-strait ties. The ministry also said the weapons will help modernize Taiwan armed forces, and it vowed that the military buildup program will continue in line with the country's policy and military strategy. .... A senior Washington official said Friday he believes U.S.-China ties will not be affected by the arms sales to Taiwan, the Central News Agency reported. The official was cited as saying that the sale is based on the TRA and comes at a time when China continues to increase its military threat against Taiwan. .... Legislator Lin Yu-fang from Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang said the arms package will be sufficient for Taiwan to build up its anti-missile defensive network. His colleague Tsai Huang-liang from the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said the arms package marks a good beginning, but the defense network will still need the F-16C/D planes and diesel-powered submarines. Tsai urged the Ma administration to continue seeking the jet fighters and submarines, which he said should have been the core of the latest arms sales. The Interior Ministry said it will take over 15 of the Black Hawk helicopters for rescue operations. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ============================== --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: arch...@mail-archive.com EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bNM5nn.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: antinato-unsubscr...@topica.com For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
