President touts arms buildup, combat preparedness

At a Chinese New Year gathering at the Ministry of National Defense (MND), the president said U.S. congressional Jan. 29 approval of arms sales to Taiwan means Taiwan is expected to obtain its long coveted self-defense weapons and he expressed his gratitude to the MND and the National Security Council for their comprehensive planning of the issue.

The arms sales also show that Taiwan and the United States have maintained close cooperation on security issues and in other areas, according to Ma.

The goal of Taiwan's military buildup and war preparations is to help the military transform itself into a force that is small but strong, small but elite and small but skillful, which could help attain peace, avoid war, deter attack and strengthen national defense, Ma went on.

He also praised the military's rescue work during the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot last August, saying that some 560,000 soldiers were mobilized for relief efforts, winning widespread acclaim for their performance.

He added that disaster prevention and relief has been listed as one of the military's priority tasks.

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