Taiwan's cabinet on Wednesday approved a special military budget of 610 billion Taiwan dollars (18.2 billion US) for the purchase of advanced weaponry amid tensions with China.
The draft bill, aimed at overriding the restrictions of existing laws governing official budgets, calls for the procurement of eight submarines, a modified version of Patriot anti-missile systems PAC-III and a fleet of anti-submarine aircraft over a 15-year period beginning in 2005.
United States President George W. Bush offered the sales in April 2001 as part of the most comprehensive arms package to the island since 1992.
Government spokesman Chen Chi-mai told reporters: "The Executive Yuan is highly concerned about the steady rise of military spending by the Chinese communist forces".
In order to finance the purchase, the Taiwanese government planned to sell land and stocks of state-run enterprises as well as issue government bonds, Chen said.
Taiwan's parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng confirmed he would lead a delegation to the US in late June for the mega arms sales.
The visit "is related to arms sales", Wang said, without providing details.
A breakdown of the extra military budget was 144.9 billion Taiwan dollars for PAC-IIIs, 412.1 billion for conventional submarines, and 53 billion for anti-submarine aircraft.
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