Agence France-Presse,
TAIPEI: President Chen Shui-bian said Taiwan badly needs more sophisticated weapons to defend itself as China might not resolve the conflict with the island peacefully.
'Taiwan must not rely on some other countries to defend itself,' he said, referring to the controversial 10-bln-usd arms package approved by US President George W Bush in 2001.
Speaking to a crowd gathered to celebrate the island's National Day, Chen
accused the opposition of repeatedly shooting down his arms bill even though the total cost has been scaled back from the original cost of more than 610 bln twd.
The latest version of the bill calls for the purchase of eight conventional submarines and 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft from the United States over 15 years for around 340 bln twd.
Chen also vowed to continue reforms launched since his Democratic Progressive Party seized power in the 2000 presidential polls.
