Reporting by JR Wu;
Writing by Ben Blanchard;
Editing by Jeremy Laurence
(Reuters) - Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it plans to buy two frigates from the United States, and that it hopes Washington will not be influenced by China's opposition to the sale.
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill last week, authorizing the sale of four Perry-class guided missile frigates to Taiwan. China expressed anger in April when a similar bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesman David Lo said they had budgeted about NT$5.5 billion ($176 million) in total for two of the frigates, not including any upgrade needs, and will review their needs and then make a decision on the other two vessels.
"We have the budget approved to purchase two of the frigates," he said.
Lo added that Taiwan hopes to take delivery of frigates it can immediately put into operational service.
China expressed anger on Monday about the deal.
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