At the recent so-called "US-Taiwan defense industrial annual meeting", a senior official with the US National Defense Department explicitly demanded Taiwan "Legislative Yuan" to pass the "defense budget" on the purchase of US$15 billion worth of arms from America. He threatened that the US "Taiwan Relations Act" was not a rubber check for protection of Taiwan. If the US confirmed that Taiwan had no intention of "self-defense", then it would be impossible for the United States to "defend Taiwan".

Earlier, 33 members of US House of Representatives also jointly sent a strongly worded call to Taiwan opposition parties, asking them to give all-out support to the "arms purchase plan", and there "should not be any more delay" in this regard. Although this "arms purchase plan" was again rejected on September 27, the US side, however, would absolutely not stop.

Why do US Defense Department and Congress energetically press Taiwan to continue purchasing US arms? Is it really "aimed at defending peace across the Taiwan Straits" as they have claimed? No! Because the main motive force boosting arms sales comes from the "iron triangle" of US military industry, that is, the federal government departments represented by the Defense Department, the Congress departments composed mainly of the Defense Affairs Group Council in the Military Commission of the Senate and House of Representatives and the Appropriation Commission, as well as national defense industrial entities (including military enterprises, laboratories, research departments and chamber of commerce related to weapons production). The "China Military Power Report" that viciously played up the "China military threat" was recently adopted by the Congress and the Defense Department under the strong impetus of this "iron triangle". In the process of making decision on arms sales to Taiwan, some large US military enterprises are not only promoters, but also direct participants. At the conference on arms sales to Taiwan, there were seats for representatives of arms dealers.

What is the purpose of the "iron triangle" of US war industry that is bent on selling weapons to Taiwan? Let's have a look at a living example. The United States will deliver two US navy used "Kidd" destroyers to Taiwan in November this year, which is a component part of US plan for large-scale arms sales to Taiwan announced in April 2001. These two destroyers were released from military service respectively in 1998 and 1999, the ships are over 20 years old, the systems of which are outmoded, the United States once tried to sell them to Greece and Australia, but its attempt was rejected. The United States sold even these rejected goods at astronomical price of US$875 million to Taiwan. What they are more happy about is that these destroyers still can constantly bring them wealth, because follow-up expenditures on relevant weapons, maintenance and service are even higher. These weapons released from service become "a ready source of money", the United States, of course, redoubles its efforts to sell them. No wonder people with discerning eyes say that only the Taiwan authorities are willing to act as such "persons deceived on account of their generosity".

Certain Americans pretend to be serious as they say that the most needed things are "Aegis" destroyers in the "defense of Taiwan". As a matter of fact, the manufacturer of such destroyers, the US General Power Company could have succeeded in winning one contract on building and selling only one such destroyer between 2005 and 2007, except Taiwan, not any other country or region shows interest in buying the "Aegis". Selling such warships to Taiwan undoubtedly means "a life-saving straw" for the said company to keep production and reduce industrial cost. An article put online in a website jointly established by the said company and some other US military enterprises gave away the secret: The " ��Aegis' plan involves 1,938 contractors in 49 states, which can earn US$21.5 billion for the American economy." This further proves that US government officials and Congressmen try their utmost to press Taiwan to purchase weapons, they do so not at all for Taiwan's security, but for the US own interests, for earning money for enterprises, for increasing job opportunities and for canvassing more votes.

The report "The Selling and Buying Conventional Weapons by Developing Countries" released recently by US Congress research institutions shows that since the conclusion of the Cold War, the United States has all along kept its position as the world's number one supplier of ammunitions. In 2004, US foreign arms sales were valued at US$14.5 billion. It is thus clear that under the pretext of "defense", US military industry's "iron triangle" is doing things for staggering profits, such things are happening in many places around the world. The United States, called "the world's largest armament trafficker" and "the largest death exporter", should seriously engage in self-examination.

"Exporting large quantities of arms is for the defense of world peace", who will believe such nonsense?

By People's Daily Online