Taiwan says U.S. arms package signals warming ties

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The $6.5-billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan heralds warming ties between Washington and Taipei after years of mistrust under the previous Taiwanese president, Taiwan officials said on Saturday.

And while China is likely to protest to the deal, analysts said on Saturday the sale was unlikely to increase tensions between Beijing and Washington since the approval comes near the end of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration.

"The deal shows that Taiwan and the United States have developed a strong trust between both sides," Tony Wang, Taiwan presidential office spokesman, told a news conference.

"This is a stark contrast compared to the previous administration when there was a lot of mistrust," Wang said.

Taiwan-U.S. ties were frayed under ex-president Chen Shui-bian, whose independence-leaning rhetoric sparked tensions with Beijing and Washington and delayed U.S. plans to sell weapons to the island.

On Friday, the arms-sales freeze ended, with the United States planning to sell weapons to Taiwan, including 30 Boeing Apache attack helicopters, 330 Patriot missiles and 32 Harpoon submarine-launched missiles.

In addition to Boeing, major contractors will include General Electric for engines, Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Co and Britain's BAE Systems.

The Pentagon said the arms sales were consistent with the Taiwan Relations Act, which obliges Washington to help Taipei defend itself.

U.S. lawmakers could block the deal in 30 days, though analysts said this was highly unlikely as it would ensure stability across the Taiwan Strait, seen as one of Asia's most dangerous flashpoints.

"The U.S. move not only helps boost our defense capabilities, it is also instrumental in ensuring stability across the Taiwan Strait," Chi Yu Lan, defense ministry spokeswoman, told a separate news conference.

China officials were not immediately available for comment. Relations between Beijing and Taipei had been tense under Chen, but have since improved after China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May.

China sees the self-ruled, democratic island as its own. Taiwan says China has hundreds of missiles aimed at the island and wants the United States to stick to the Taiwan Relations Act to help in its defense capabilities with U.S. weapon sales.

"On paper, sales have been frozen since Ma's election," said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, China expert and head of the politics department at Hong Kong Baptist University.

"It's much better now for the U.S. and for China, because China can digest this sale much better now than if it's made by the new administration. It won't have much consequence on the next administration. It's good timing."

(Reporting by Christine Lu, Ben Tai in Taipei and John Ruwitch in Hong Kong; Editing by Valerie Lee)