TAIPEI: Taiwan will donate three helicopters to its diplomatic ally Honduras in the coming days to bolster the latter’s crime-fighting capabilities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said here the other day.
Speaking during a regular MOFA briefing, Antonio Yeh counselor to the ministry’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs, said the three decommissioned UH-1H helicopters have already arrived in the Central American ally.
A donation ceremony will be held in the coming days to officially transfer these choppers to the ally, he added.
The donation will be made for humanitarian purposes to help Honduran security forces fight drug trafficking, Yeh said.
The three helicopters are expected to help the Central American ally to fight drug smuggling and boost its public security.
Yeh noted that the donation is part of a routine bilateral cooperation project and the ministry did not spend extra funds to facilitate the donation.
The decommissioned helicopters were originally listed under the R.O.C. Army Aviation Special Forces Command.
The Army is replacing these aging UH-1H choppers with new Black Hawk helicopters purchased from the U.S.