Taiwan seeks aerial refuelling planes from US

Taipei, June 8: Taiwan has asked the United States for aerial refuelling planes and is considering leasing vertical take-off and landing jets to help counter the threat from China, a defence official said today.

The aim is to maintain the combat ability of the island's air force in the event of a Chinese attack on its airfields.

China has claimed self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese civil war ended in 1949 and has vowed to retake it by force if there are formal moves towards independence.

Taiwan says China has nearly 1,000 missiles pointed towards the island to back up the threat.

The Defence Ministry official declined to say what kind of aerial refuelling aircraft had been requested or how many.

''If our airfields are destroyed by attack, then it will be necessary to have the option of refuelling in the air so as to continue combat operations,'' said the official on condition of anonymity.

The ministry was also studying the possibility of leasing AV-8B Harrier II jets, made in the United States, the official said, saying their versatility would make them highly suitable in case the island's airfields were knocked out.

The source was confirming comments made by deputy defence minister Ko Cheng-heng to lawmakers yesterday as reported in Taipei's China Times.

But a previous request to buy 60 F-16 fighters has been denied by Washington, the island's main ally and weapons provider, because of Taipei's long delay in approving a previous 18 billion dollar US weapons package on offer since 2001.

Approval of the new fighter jets is dependent on passage of the budget for the 18 billion dollar package in parliament, where opposition lawmakers have blocked it successively.

Taiwan has 330 fighter aircraft against 700 Chinese jets and bombers that could conduct combat operations against the island without refuelling, according to the Pentagon's 2007 report on China's military power.

And while analysts say Taiwan still maintains a qualitative edge in fighter planes and pilot training, that edge is slipping.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, recognising ''one China'', but is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help the island in case of an attack.

Reuters>