Taiwan to reiterate call for arms sales at defense meeting in U.S.
ROC Central News Agency
2011/09/15 16:37:58
Taipei, Sept. 15 (CNA) Taiwan will take the opportunity to push for the purchase of military hardware such as F-16 C/D jets from the United States, at an upcoming industry conference in the U.S. on defense and security ties between the two sides, an official said Thursday.
Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Luo Shou-he said Taiwan will also urge the U.S. to approve the sale of diesel-electric submarines and upgrades to Taiwan's F-16 A/B jet fighter fleet.
Taiwan has repeatedly asked the U.S. to sell 66 F-16 C/Ds since 2006 to modernize its air force and maintain its self-defense capability, but the U.S. government reportedly favors simply upgrading Taiwan's existing F-16 A/Bs to avoid offending China.
A deputy defense minister will lead a Taiwan delegation to the annual U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference that will be held Sept. 19-20 in the state of Virginia, Luo said.
Organized by the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, the conference has been a major forum over the past nine years for officials from both sides to discuss bilateral defense cooperation and Taiwan's security needs.
The U.S. State Department usually sends senior officials to speak at the conference but will not do so this year, according to a Reuters report. Instead, a senior Pentagon official will address the event, the report said.
Luo declined to comment on the report. (By Chen Pei-huang and Elaine Hou) enditem/ pc
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