Taiwan not interested in defending itself

At least that's one way of looking at this. Another is that they see the value in not provoking their neighbor, who just happens to be the big bully on the street.

Legislators also declined to purchase diesel-electric submarines as suggested by Washington but promised to study the issue further.

President Chen Shui-bian and his pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party battled long and hard to get the arms package funded, calling it vital for Taiwan's defense. But the opposition Nationalist Party, which controls the Legislative Yuan, refused to endorse it, saying the suggested purchases were too expensive, inappropriate for Taiwan's needs and likely to fuel an arms race with the mainland.