Taiwan, China military officers to meet for first time in 60 years Taipei Taiwan said Tuesday it will send military officers to a security forum held by the United States in Hawaii in August, where they will meet participating Chinese officers.

The announcement came as China said it would do the same, in what would be the first face-to-face encounter of military officers, 60 years after the two sides split at the end of a civil war.

Taiwan's military confirmed the Defence Ministry would send officers to the event.

"We have been sending officers to the forum every year since 2002, and will be doing so this year," the spokesman's office said.

Its comment came after Taiwan and Chinese news media reported that China has decided to send its officers to the forum again after suspending its participation when Taiwan started taking part in 2002.

Beijing first attended the Transnational Security Cooperation, a military exchange forum in Hawaii organized by the US Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies under the US Pacific Command, in 2000.

Asked if the Taiwan officers would meet and share thoughts with their Chinese counterparts during the forum, Taiwan military spokesman's office declined to comment.

The US has also invited other Pacific nations, including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. (dpa)