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Taiwan parliament stalls government's $40 bln defence plan

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Taiwan opposition says won't sign 'blank cheques'

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China ramping up military activities around Taiwan

TAIPEI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - 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 ‌defence spending, the island's

defence ministry said on Friday.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te last year proposed a $40

billion special defence 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 U.S. weapons.

Taiwan's defence ⁠ministry has urged the opposition to

approve the spending proposal, warning that any delay could

postpone much-needed weapons deliveries, as orders ‌from other

countries could move ahead in the queue.

The ​ministry said it had received from the U.S. government

draft Letters of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) price proposals

valid until March 15 of this year for TOW ⁠anti-tank missiles,

Lockheed Martin ( LMT )-made Javelin anti-armour missiles and

M109A7 ‍self-propelled howitzers.

The ​first instalment must be paid by March 31, but

parliament has not sent the government's defence spending

proposal to committee for review, it added.

"The Ministry of National Defence ‍will actively seek an

extension from the U.S. side for the LOA signing validity period

to avoid the entire case being cancelled due to a failure to

sign within the deadline," it said.

LOAs are the legal instrument the U.S. government uses to

sell weapons abroad.

The ministry said that it has already coordinated with the

U.S. on what weapons it wants under the spending plans ​and

confirming ‍key factors such as willingness to sell, production

lines, and delivery timelines.

Parliament should complete its review as soon as possible so

that the armed forces can "build up capabilities ​and prepare for

combat, deter aggression, and safeguard national security", it

added.

Taiwan's main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), which

sent a delegation to Beijing this week, says it supports defence

spending but has a duty to scrutinise the plans and will not

sign "blank cheques".

The U.S. says that it supports Taiwan's efforts to boost

spending, something the Trump administration has been asking of

all U.S. allies.

"As the State Department and AIT have repeatedly stated

publicly, and ​we've made clear to Taiwan counterparts, we

welcome Taiwan's announcement of a $40 billion special defence

procurement budget," a State Department spokesperson said in a

statement to Reuters.

The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is the de facto

embassy in the absence of formal ‍diplomatic ties.