Khaberni - The commander of the American command for the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions emphasized on Tuesday the importance of Taiwan passing its troubled defense budget, saying that the United States "cannot care more about defending Taiwan than Taiwan cares about itself".
Admiral Samuel Paparo said in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, "It is not a chicken and egg situation, because you won't get chickens or eggs if you starve the hen."
He added, in response to a question about the stalled negotiations, "That's why it's very important that they fund their defense themselves."
Last year, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te proposed an additional $40 billion in defense spending to counter China, which considers the island part of its territory.
The Taiwanese parliament, where the opposition Kuomintang party holds the majority of seats, continues to discuss the government's plan and other less costly proposals.
Under American law, Washington is obligated to provide Taiwan with the necessary means to defend itself, and U.S. senators have sought to reassure Taiwan that the United States would soon approve another round of arms sales worth up to $14 billion.
A group of 37 U.S. lawmakers from both parties sent a letter to senior Taiwanese politicians in February expressing their concern about the parliament's disruption of defense spending plans, and another group of U.S. lawmakers sent a similar letter during a subsequent visit to Taipei.
The party says it supports defense spending, but it will not sign "blank checks," and that dialogue with Beijing is equally important.
In Taipei, deputies from the ruling party expressed their anger at the Kuomintang party for bypassing defense budget talks and for its leader Cheng Li-won's visit to China, where she called for peace, saying that birds not missiles should fly in the sky.
