Taiwan military plane to land in US, testing China
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TAIPEI, Jan 22 (Reuters) - A Taiwan military plane carrying aid for quake-hit Haiti will be allowed to land in the United States for the first time, a U.S. official said on Friday, a move which could anger the island's political rival China.
The aircraft will refuel in the U.S. on its way to Haiti, said Chris Kavanagh, spokesman for the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy on the island.
"This is a humanitarian mission. We want to help them get relief to Haiti as soon as possible, so we said OK," Kavanagh said.
The move comes at a time of increased friction between China and the United States, at odds over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, exchange rates, trade quarrels, climate change policy and Google Inc.'s (GOOG.O) dispute with Beijing over hacking and censorship.
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists fled to the island.
Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary, and vehemently opposes military contact between Taipei and Washington.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but is obliged by the Taiwan Relations Act to help the island defend itself if attacked.
U.S. and Taiwan officials declined to give details of the cargo aircraft's mission, but local media said the plane was an air force C-130 turboprop plane.
Haiti, one of Taiwan's only 23 diplomatic allies compared to China's more than 170, has received $5 million in Taiwan government aid for relief after the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed as many as 200,000 people.
In another move that could upset China, Taiwan said U.S. officials would let island President Ma Ying-jeou stop in the United States next week on a trip to Latin America. China has made no comment so far. [ID:nTOE60J07E].
(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Ben Blanchard)
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