Taiwan is a peacemaker and U.S. arms sales are designed to boost its national defenses, President Ma Ying-jeou said Thursday. During a meeting with visiting Jim Cheng, secretary of commerce and trade of the state of Virginia, the president said arms sales are only part of Taiwan's association with the United States. Ever since his administration took office, he said, Taipei and Washington have come a long way in their ties, especially as regards the restoration of mutual trust between their top leaders. In the last two years, former U.S. President George W. Bush and incumbent President Barack Obama have given the nod to separate arms sale packages to Taiwan, which Taipei had requested more than a decade ago but had never been able to obtain. 'The final green light from Washington goes a long way to strengthening Taiwan's national defenses,' Ma said. 'We will make Washington feel that friendship with Taiwan is not a burden, ' the president said, adding that good ties between Taiwan and China would provide the United States with an unprecedented opportunity to keep on good terms with both Taipei and Beijing. The president's remarks were seen as a veiled rebuttal of a recent statement by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein that arms sales to Taiwan undermine Washington's ties with China. 