Taiwan's parliament on Friday voted in favor of reviewing a controversial arms package to buy weaponry from the United States, despite objections from some opposition lawmakers. "The proposal was passed with approval of the majority of parliament members. It will now be sent to the defense committee" for further discussions, said parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng.
If approved by the defense committee, the bill will go to the full parliament for a vote.
A total of 162 lawmakers voted in favor of debating the proposed 10 billion US dollar arms purchase. They will begin discussing the bill in February 2007.
Twenty-six lawmakers were against it and six cast invalid ballots.
Independent lawmaker Li Ao, an outspoken critic of the arms deal, held a placard reading "(President) Chen Shui-bian is an American's dog, (opposition leader) Ma Ying-jeou is an American's dog", condemning both the ruling and opposition parties for supporting the bill.
The vote came as China said Friday it needed a strong and credible military to face security challenges it could not ignore, such as Taiwan's independence drive.
"The struggle to oppose and contain the separatist forces for 'Taiwan independence' and their activities remains a hard one," said the 2006 Defense White Paper.
Outside parliament, scores of activists protested the bill and blamed the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) for ignoring public feelings against the arms deal.
The bill was proposed by the defense ministry in a bid to boost the island's defense capabilities in light of the military threat from rival China.
It was finally passed by the parliament's procedure committee earlier this week after nearly 70 attempts, which allowed it to go forward.
To ease protests from the opposition, the ministry has scaled down the package from the original 16 billion dollars.
The latest version of the bill calls for the purchase of eight conventional submarines and 12 P-3C anti-submarine aircraft. The cost of Patriot anti-missile systems included in the original deal will instead be part of the annual defence budget.
Some opposition lawmakers say Taiwan cannot afford the arms, while others say they would be delivered too slowly to enable the island to keep pace with China's military build-up.
China opposes any arms sales to the island, which it considers part of its territory. The two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.
Source: Agence France-Presse
