A top Taiwanese official has renewed calls for Washington to sell the island advanced aircraft in the wake of China's development of its first stealth plane, a report said Wednesday.

Parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng warned that China could upset regional and global order by developing the J-20 jet, the state Central News Agency said.

He urged Washington to provide Taiwan with advanced fighter jets to counter a serious imbalance between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait due to China's rapid military expansion, the report said.

Wang, a top politician from the governing Kuomintang party, made the comments during a visit to the United States where he is expected to meet with US politicians and academics, it said.

Taipei applied to the US government to buy 66 F-16 C/D fighters in early 2007, but observers say Washington has held up the deal for fear of angering Beijing.

China opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, which it considers a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war and have been governed separately since.

Taiwan maintains that it still needs to maintain sufficient self defence despite improving ties in recent years.

earlier related report

Taiwan adds frigates to deter China fishing boats
Taipei (AFP) Jan 26, 2011 –

Taiwan's coastguard on Wednesday inaugurated two frigates to boost the island's capabilities as part of efforts to deter illegal fishing boats, mainly from China, officials said.

The "Tainan", a 2,000-tonne frigate named after a city in southern Taiwan, was put into service after a ceremony presided over by President Ma Ying-jeou in Kaohsiung, a port in the south.

The frigate, capable of cruising up to 7,500 miles, will be used to patrol waters around the island and in the disputed South China Sea, coastguards said.

"Over the past two years, the government's efforts have helped lead to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," Ma said according to a statement from the coastguard.

"(But) the maintenance of security on waters around Taiwan has emerged as one of the most important tasks."

Ties with China have improved markedly since Ma took office in 2008, with the two sides resuming routine high-level direct talks and adopting various measures to boost trade and tourism.

Despite the warming ties, Taiwan's coastguard frequently reports intrusions by Chinese fishing boats into the island's territorial waters.

earlier related report

US reassures Taiwan after Obama-Hu talks
Taipei (AFP) Jan 25, 2011 –

A top United States envoy on Tuesday reassured Taiwan that its interests had not been violated during last week's talks between President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao.

"We purposefully constructed a document that in no way violates any of Taiwan's interests," said Raymond F. Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), referring to a joint statement between the two countries.

"We kept Taiwan in mind during the process of negotiating, and the result is a document that in no way breaks any new ground on any issues that would be a concern to Taiwan," he said.

Taiwan carefully watched Hu's first state visit to the US, fearing the island's national interest could be damaged as Washington seeks to improve ties with Beijing — which claims Taiwan as its own.

The AIT has handled unofficial ties with Taiwan since Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, although the US has remained a leading arms supplier to the self-ruled island.

Taiwanese authorities have been pushing a request to acquire upgraded F16 fighter jets from the US, which Burghardt said "it's still an open question."

"We just don't talk about it until we do it… We look for the right time to do things," he told a media briefing.

"This is an issue we do not discuss with Beijing… we make the decision based on the threat to Taiwan."

China opposes any arms sales to Taiwan, which it considers a part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the two sides split in 1949 after a civil war.

Share This Article With Planet Earth