Taiwan seeks to buy F-16 fighters, submarines from the US

Jan 25, 2011, 4:24 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Tuesday renewed a request to buy F-16 fighters and diesel submarines from the United States for self-defence.

Ma made the call while receiving a US envoy who arrived to brief Taipei on Chinese President Hu Jintao's recent visit to the United States.

'For a long time, our people have been concerned about the tip of the military balance across the Taiwan Strait. So in recent years, we have been hoping to acquire the F-16 C/Ds and diesel submarines,' he told Raymond Burghardt.

Burghardt chairs the American Institute in Taiwan, which handles Washington-Taipei ties in absence of full diplomatic relations.

Ma thanked President Barack Obama for reaffirming Washington's commitment to Taiwan's defence. He also expressed appreciation to the US for twice announcing arms sales to Taipei without previously consulting Beijing.

'This is not for an arms race, but is to replace some warplanes and subs which are very old and that is very bad for Taiwan's defence,' he said.

When the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, it signed the Taiwan Relations Act, pledging to maintain trade ties with Taipei and to continue to sell it defensive arms.

Taiwan is seeking to buy 66 F-16 C/Ds to replace the 150 F-16 A/Bs bought from the US in the 1990s.

The island is also seeking to acquire eight conventional submarines from the US to replace its four submarines - two from the World War II era and two bought from the Netherlands in the 1980s.

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