US, Taiwan defence firms to explore weapons co-production

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, right, meets with a U.S. delegation then in Taiwan for an annual defense forum, May 6, 2019. [VOA]

Defence contractors from the U.S. and Taiwan will resume in-person conversations next month to discuss possibilities of co-producing weapons, a move likely to ignite protests from China.

The meeting, a regular event derailed by the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, comes during the ongoing Ukraine crisis and increasing tension in the Taiwan Strait.