TAIPEI: Taiwan will seek an extension to the date by which an agreement must be signed with the United States for a batch of weapons deliveries given an ongoing standoff in parliament about defense spending, the island\u2019s defense ministry said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te last year proposed a $40 billion special defense budget to counter a rising threat from China, which views the island as its own territory, but the opposition-controlled parliament has instead advanced its own, less expensive proposals which only fund some US weapons.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s defense ministry has \u200curged the opposition \u200cto approve the spending proposal, warning that any \u200cdelay \u2060could postpone much-needed \u200cweapons deliveries, as orders from other countries could move ahead in the queue.<\/p>\n
The ministry said it had received from the US government draft Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) price proposals valid until March 15 of this year for TOW anti-tank missiles, Lockheed Martin-made Javelin anti-armor missiles and M109A7 self-propelled howitzers.<\/p>\n
The first instalment must be paid by March 31, but parliament has not sent the government\u2019s defense \u2060spending proposal to committee for review, it added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry of National Defense will actively seek \u200can extension from the US side for the \u200dLOA signing validity period to avoid the \u200dentire case being canceled due to a failure to sign within \u200dthe deadline,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
LOAs are the legal instrument the US government uses to sell weapons abroad.<\/p>\n
The ministry said that it has already coordinated with the US on what weapons it wants under the spending plans and confirming key factors such as willingness to sell, production lines, and delivery timelines.<\/p>\n
Parliament should complete its review as soon as possible so that the armed forces \u2060can \u201cbuild up capabilities and prepare for combat, deter aggression, and safeguard national security,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), which sent a delegation to Beijing this week, says it supports defense spending but has a duty to scrutinize the plans and will not sign \u201cblank cheques.\u201d<\/p>\n
The US says that it supports Taiwan\u2019s efforts to boost spending, something the Trump administration has been asking of all US allies.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the State Department and AIT have repeatedly stated publicly, and we\u2019ve made clear to Taiwan counterparts, we welcome Taiwan\u2019s announcement of a $40 billion special defense procurement budget,\u201d a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The American \u200cInstitute in Taiwan (AIT) is the de facto embassy in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAIPEI: Taiwan will seek an extension to the date by which an agreement must be signed with the United States for a batch of weapons deliveries given an ongoing standoff in parliament about defense spending, the island\u2019s defense ministry said on Friday. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te last year proposed a $40 billion special defense budget […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529823,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-529812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n