A day after Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, said the country is committed to building its own submarines, the country's Ministry of National Defense reiterated on Monday that it has still not given up on the idea of buying submarines from the United States.
Ministry spokesperson Major General Luo Shou-he said submarines are on the priority list of weapons Taiwan needs because they have a strong deterrent value and can help protect the safety of the country's marine territories.
Taiwan is pursuing the expansion of its submarine fleet through two channels: continuing to seek arms sales from the United States and building submarines on its own, Luo said.
Taipei has brought up its request for submarines at the annual Taiwan-US defense industry conference each year and has never changed its thinking about purchasing arms from the US, the spokesperson said.
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