Taiwan says it cannot afford new U.S. anti-submarine helicopters

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan signalled on Thursday that it had deserted a plan to purchase superior new anti-submarine warfare helicopters from the USA, saying they have been too costly.

Taiwan had earlier mentioned it was planning to purchase 12 MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters, made by Lockheed Martin Corp unit Sikorsky, however home media mentioned the USA had rejected the sale as not being in step with the island’s wants.

Requested in parliament about current adjustments to Taiwan’s purchases of latest U.S. weapons, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng talked about the helicopter case first.

“The value is just too excessive, past the scope of our nation’s skill,” he mentioned.

Two different arms purchases have additionally been delayed – M109A6 Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer artillery techniques, and cellular Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

The Raytheon Applied sciences’ Stingers are in sizzling demand in Ukraine, the place they’ve been used towards Russian plane, however U.S. provides have shrunk and there are important hurdles to producing extra of the anti-aircraft weapons.

Chiu mentioned that they had already signed the contract for the Stingers and paid for them, and they might press the USA to ship them.

“We do not view arms gross sales as a mere matter, and we’ve back-up plans,” he added, with out elaborating.

Taiwan says the USA has provided it alternate options to the M109A6, together with truck-based rocket launchers made by Lockheed Martin known as the Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.

Chiu mentioned they have been nonetheless contemplating their choices on that.

Taiwan, claimed by China as its personal territory, is enterprise a navy modernisation programme to enhance its capabilities to fend off a Chinese language assault, together with with precision weapons like missiles.

President Tsai Ing-wen has championed the idea of “uneven warfare”, which includes creating high-tech, extremely cellular weapons which might be onerous to destroy and may ship precision assaults.

U.S. officers have been pushing Taiwan to modernise its navy so it might turn out to be a “porcupine”, onerous for China to assault.

China has been ramping up its personal navy modernisation and stress towards Taiwan because it seeks to drive the democratically ruled island to simply accept Beijing’s rule.

Chiu mentioned the lately – he didn’t give a timeframe – there have been many “enemy ships” within the waters round Taiwan, which “in precept stand off” with Taiwanese forces, although he didn’t give particulars.

Eight Chinese language naval vessels, together with the plane service the Liaoning, handed between islands in Japan’s southern Okinawa chain on Monday, an space that’s to Taiwan’s northeast.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Extra reporting by Roger Tung; Enhancing by Robert Birsel & Simon Cameron-Moore)