Taiwan opposition blocks arms'-purchase budget despite US warning

Oct 31, 2006, 11:48 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's opposition legislators on Tuesday blocked a controversial arms' budget bill for the 62nd time, despite a stern warning from the United States.

Lawmakers of the main opposition Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) and People First Party joined forces in a committee meeting to prevent a supplementary budget of 189 million US dollars from being placed on the agenda for review, parliament officials said.

The move prompted sharp criticism from furious ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers, who said the opposition should take responsibility over any possible retaliation from the US, which approved the arms' sales to the island and has been losing its patience with Taiwan's failure to secure the deal.

'Ma Ying-jeou is a big liar. He has said he would support the budget bill, but now the bill is still being blocked,' shouted DPP lawmaker Wang Shih-chien.

He was referring to the KMT chairman who said on Monday that his party would support the passage of a supplementary appropriation to beef up the island's defence capacity.

The supplementary budget was part of the mammoth 14.5 billion dollar budget that Taiwan's defence ministry requested for the purchase of a package of US weapons, including anti-missile Patriot systems, conventional submarines and anti-submarine aircraft.

The package was approved by Washington in 2001 despite protests from China, a long-time rival of Taiwan since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949.

But since then, no action has been taken from Taiwan to honour the deal, prompting an angry US administration to issue what seemed to be an ultimatum last week.

On Thursday, Stephen Young, the de facto US ambassador to Taiwan, demanded the parliament approve the budget in its autumn session.

He said the US is the only country willing to sell arms to Taiwan, and warned that the next US president may not approve further sales.

Young said that despite absence of formal relations, the US had committed to help defend Taiwan in the event of enemy attacks, but the island must also show its determination to defend itself by acquiring adequate defence capability.

But his public statements triggered a strong backlash from the opposition lawmakers, who called it highly improper for a US diplomat in Taiwan to issue such an ultimatum. Opposition leaders said they blocked the budget bill in order to defend Taiwan's national dignity.

A group of activists opposed to the arms' purchase activists, led by independent lawmaker Kao Chin Su-mei, also demonstrated outside the parliament chamber Tuesday.

The protestors shouted 'No US arms' purchase' and 'Get out of Taiwan, Stephen Young,' as they scuffled with police and tried to force their way into the chamber.

The protesters dispersed after learning that the budget bill had been blocked again.