Ma, who is currently on a four-day visit to the Southeast Asian city-state, made the remarks while being interviewed by a Taipei radio station during which time he talked about his meeting with the respected Singaporean statesman Mar 20.

Ma said that their meeting focused on United States arms sales to Taiwan, the cross-Taiwan Strait situation, and the economic and political situation in Taiwan.

Lee expressed a lot of concern about the political situation in Taiwan and also the cross-strait situation, Ma said, adding however that Lee has no intention of playing the role of a mediator between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Lee also said that although the issue of cross-strait relations is important, the domestic economy should take precedence, otherwise Chen will have difficulty being re-elected, according to Ma.

Lee told Ma that he believes that Taipei should not give Beijing the impression that it is pursuing a splittist path and should instead let Beijing think that Taiwan is sincere about promoting unification and stepping up exchanges, the Taipei mayor relayed.

The Singaporean statesman however added that unification will have to wait until the timing is right and the conditions are ideal, Ma added.

The Taipei mayor also explained Taiwan's stance on US arms sales to Taiwan in the wake of remarks by Singaporean ambassador to the United States that Singapore is opposed to US arms sale to the island.

Lee said during their meeting that he believes an arms race will not benefit the overall situation in the Taiwan Strait, while Ma responded that before Taiwan's security can be ensured, it will be necessary for the island to obtain defensive weapons.

Ma stressed that although they did not see eye to eye on the matter, Taiwan has traditionally viewed Singapore as a "good friend", adding that he was hoping that through his meeting with Lee, Singapore would gain a better understanding of Taiwan's needs and difficulties.

During his low-profile stay in Singapore at the invitation of the government, Ma made visits to several locations to gain a better understanding of Singapore's social welfare services, information education, mass rapid transit system, and major economic development projects.

He called on Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong Mar 21 before returning to Taipei Mar 22.

According to a China News report Mar 19 Singapore consistently adopts a low-profile approach in handling visits by Taiwan officials to avoid offending mainland China, with which Singapore maintains formal diplomatic relations.

Singapore, the report said, also banned Ma from making open or formal contacts with the local press. Singapore news media also didn't report on Ma's arrival Mar 18 for a city-to-city exchanges promotional visit.

Source: Central News Agency web site, Taipei, in English 0825 GMT 21 Mar 01