Taiwan and the United States are expected to resume talks that were suspended three years ago on the island's Ministry of Defense's acquisition of MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters, the Taipei Times reported, citing an unnamed government official.
According to the official, the United States "has expressed readiness to resume talks" on the purchase of the equipment from Taipei. The island's military would like to acquire 13 or more of the helicopters. The exact number will be determined after negotiations with Washington, the source said.
The MH-60R is one of the main anti-submarine helicopters of the US Navy and is in great demand in the Asia-Pacific region.
The purchase of the helicopters by Taipei was agreed several years ago, when the purchase of 11 or 12 helicopters was discussed. However, in 2022, the island's Ministry of Defense decided not to continue the negotiations, as Taipei considered the price of the contract too high – the deal was then valued at $1.15 billion.
New US arms sales to Taiwan will only increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait and increase the risk of confrontation, said Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
Liu Pengyu noted that US arms sales to Taiwan violate previously reached agreements between Beijing and Washington and also send a “wrong signal to separatist forces“ on the island. “Taiwan is part of the PRC, and the Taiwan issue is an exclusively internal matter for China and does not tolerate any external interference. Deepening military ties between the US and Taiwan will not bring security to the latter, nor will it save “Taiwan independence“ "It is inevitable that it will fail," Liu Pengyu said.
“This will only increase the tension between the two sides of the Strait and increase the risk of confrontation. Nothing will shake our firm commitment to resolving the Taiwan issue and achieving national reunification,“ the diplomat added.
“The Taiwan issue is the basis of China's core interests and the first red line in China-US relations that must not be crossed. The PRC calls on the US to immediately stop arms sales to Taiwan, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop supporting separatist forces defending "Taiwan independence" under any pretext, not to provide them with support, and stop creating new factors that could lead to tension in the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese embassy spokesman concluded.
Earlier on Tuesday, John Roh, nominated by US President Donald Trump as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, announced at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he intends to accelerate the supply of US arms to Taiwan. Roh also said that Taiwan should increase military spending to more than 10% of GDP.