Taiwan President Ma urges US to sell modern weapons to Taipei

Apr 22, 2009, 15:44 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday urged the United States to sell more modern weapons systems to Taiwan to maintain the military balance across the Taiwan Strait.

Ma made the call during a video conference with US academics to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Washington's signing the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).

The US Congress passed TRA to maintain military, economics and cultural ties with Taiwan in 1979 as it switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. The TRA pledges the US would continue to sell defensive arms to Taiwan, despite strong protests from China which regards Taiwan as its breakaway province.

Ma said that Taiwan recently made requests for seven kinds of weaponry from the US, including F-16C/Ds and the feasibility study for making conventional submarines for Taiwan.

'The purchase of these arms is necessary in view of the sharp changes in the military balance across the Taiwan Strait and for Taiwan's security,' he said.

F-16C/Ds would replace the F-16 A/Bs and other less sophisticated warplanes in the Taiwan Air Force, he noted.

Ma did not comment on press reports that the US government has shelved the F-16C/D sale and building subs for Taiwan for fear of offending China, but told the US that such worries are unfounded.

China says it wants peaceful unification with Taiwan, which is now recognized by 23 countries, but would recover Taiwan by force if Taipei seeks formal independence from China, indefinitely delays unification talks or if unrest breaks out on the island.

The video linkup conference, in which Ma also answered questions from US scholars attending the conference in Washington D.C., was held by the US think tank Centre for Strategic & International Studies.