US may buy military equipment from Taiwan
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-03-01 10:03

The United States is considering purchasing military equipment from Taiwan as the Pentagon seeks to reduce costs by diversifying its sources of arms supplies, it was reported.

This undated file photo released by the US Department of Defense shows the Pentagon in Washington. The United States is considering purchasing military equipment from Taiwan as the Pentagon seeks to reduce costs by diversifying its sources of arms supplies, it was reported. [AFP]

A group organized by the Comparative Testing Office (CTO) of the US Department of Defense is scheduled to arrive in Taipei Saturday to evaluate the island's capability of supplying the equipment, the United Daily News said.

The trip will come as the US Department of Defense seeks to increase its procurement of military equipment from Asia Pacific, where the manufacturing cost is only one-third to one-fifth of that of the United States, it said.

The group, composing of five military officers and a civilian official, would meet Taiwanese defense and economic officials and high-tech firms in a five-day visit, the daily said, citing local defense soruces.

They would bring with them a shopping list of over 300 items, ranging from aircraft components, ammunition, laptop computers to satellite telephones and infrared equipment, it said.

The group is expected to submit a report to the Pentagon in June on the outcome of their evaluation, it said.

In line with its usual practice, Taiwan's defense authorities declined to comment on the report.

Washington last month denied reports that it was planning for the first time to buy hundreds of millions of bullets from Taiwan as its supplies are running low after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but the United States has remained the leading arms supplier to the island.

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