Taipei, April 30 (CNA) Republic of China President Chen Shui-bian said Monday that nearly one year after his inauguration, he takes great pleasure in seeing achievements in neutralization of the ROC armed forces.
"Nearly after one year in office, I'm most satisfied with our achievements in military neutralization, in addition to breakthroughs on arms procurement and diplomatic fronts," President Chen said while meeting with visiting Guatemalan Defense Minister Eduardo Arevalo Lacs.
Noting that he came from an opposition party, Chen said his family and career backgrounds had not allowed him to forge any ties with the military before he took office last May.
"Nevertheless, our servicemen are loyal to our country, constitution and the 23 million people of Taiwan," Chen said, adding that over the past year, those who have shown the greatest amount of support, loyalty and allegiance to the ROC's popularly elected president are its military officers and enlisted men.
Chen said he appreciates ROC Defense Minister Wu Shih-wen and Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming for their efforts in promoting military neutralization.
Chen went on to point out that Guatemalan President Alfonso Antonio Portillo Cabrera also came from the opposition camp and that he has been impressed by Portillo's efforts to neutralize Guatemala's armed forces.
For his part, Arevalo said he fully agrees with Chen's recognition of the importance of military neutralization in a country's national development.
Stressing that the pivotal functions of a country's armed forces lie in maintaining national sovereignty, dignity and security, Arevalo said the Guatemalan military will continue to dedicate itself to protecting national security, people's well-being and human rights.
As President Chen is scheduled to visit Guatemala in late May, Arevalo said the Guatemalan government and people welcome Chen's upcoming visit. "We believe that your visit will be a historic event in the ROC-Guatemalan relationship and will further boost bilateral cooperation," he told Chen.