Taipei  - Taiwan's Defense Ministry came under Sunday from parliamentarians for quietly removing the military attache titles from officers stationed in the US.

"Didn't those responsible for decision making at the defense ministry know nothing about the consequence of the move? It is a belittling of our sovereignty," said Lin Yu-fang, parliamentarian of the ruling Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT).

He said it took Taiwan great efforts to convince the US to allow the island to keep the military attache posts after formal diplomatic relations between Taipei and Washington were cut in 1979.

"The Chinese Communists had tried in vain for years for Washington to abolish our military attache posts in the US, and I don't understand why the defense ministry would agree to the removal of those titles," said Lin, a senior member of the defense committee.

He said the removal was not a result of pressure from the US or China, which long stopped demanding Washington to refuse to allow Taiwan to use the military attache title.

His comments came after news reports that Taiwan's Military Representative Organisation in Washington changed the military attache titles of Taiwanese officers stationed in the US last month, to secretary, and restricted them from meeting their US counterparts directly.

KMT lawmakers said the move was tantamount to belittling Taiwan's sovereignty. "Someone from the defense ministry must shoulder responsibility over such a decision," said KMT lawmaker Shui Hua-min.

The defense ministry was not available for comment on Sunday.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing from Taipei in 1979, but it still maintains close military and trade ties with Taiwan. (dpa)