The US Navy’s Blue Hawks Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 78 launches flares during a training exercise near the USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the Philippine Sea, April 24, 2017 / Specialist mass communications 2nd grade Sean M. Castellano / Distribution via REUTERS / Photo file
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TAIPAI, May 5 (Reuters) – Taiwan reported on Thursday that it had abandoned its plan to buy advanced new anti-submarine helicopters from the United States, saying they were too expensive.
Taiwan has previously said it plans to purchase 12 MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp.’s Sikorsky division (LMT.N), but local media said the United States has rejected the sale because it does not match islands. needs.
Asked in parliament about the latest changes in the purchase of new US weapons from Taiwan, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng first mentioned the helicopter case.
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“The price is too high, beyond the capabilities of our country,” he said.
Two other weapons purchases were delayed – the M109A6 Medium Self-Propelled Artillery Howitzer and the Stinger Mobile Anti-Aircraft Missile. Read more
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Chiu said they had already signed the Stingers contract and paid for them and would push the United States to deliver them.
“We do not see arms sales as trifles and we have contingency plans,” he added, without elaborating.
Taiwan says the United States has offered it alternatives to the M109A6, including truck-based Lockheed Martin rocket launchers called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.
Chiu said they were still considering it.
Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, is embarking on a military modernization program to improve its ability to repel a Chinese attack, including with precision weapons such as missiles.
President Tsai Ying-wen supports the concept of “asymmetric warfare,” which involves the development of high-tech, high-mobility weapons that are difficult to destroy and can deliver precision attacks.
U.S. officials are urging Taiwan to modernize its military so that it can become a “porcupine” that is difficult for China to attack.
China is stepping up its own military modernization and putting pressure on Taiwan as it seeks to force the democratically run island to accept Beijing’s rule.
Chiu said that recently – he did not give a time frame – there were many “enemy ships” in the waters around Taiwan that “generally oppose” Taiwanese forces, although he did not give details.
Eight Chinese naval ships, including the Liaoning aircraft carrier, crossed between islands in the southern Japanese chain Okinawa, an area northeast of Taiwan, on Monday. Read more
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Report by Ben Blanchard; Additional reports by Roger Tung; Edited by Robert Birsel and Simon Cameron-Moore
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