Taiwan Leader: U.S. Weapons Needed

Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Saturday that the island needs to secure defensive weapons from the United States, despite warming relations with rival China.

The comments were the first direct response from the Taiwanese president following media reports last month that the U.S. had suspended weapons sales to the island to avoid the ire of Beijing.

Ma said that improving relations with China, including the start of the first weekend direct flights in almost 60 years, were no reason for Taiwan to let down its defenses against its communist rival. [snip]

Beijing has repeatedly threatened to invade if the island formally declares independence.

However, influential voices in the U.S. State Department are believed to favor an open-ended suspension of arms sales to Taiwan, reflecting China's growing economic and political clout in Washington.

In his comments, Ma acknowledged the new stance was creating problems for Taiwan. "It is a difficult situation for us," he said.

[I.e., another betrayal of an ally by our State Department - despite the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act explicitly requiring our sale of defensive arms "to assure peace in the Taiwan Straight". This den of career bureaucrats needs fumigating]

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