August.17 (China Military News cited from Press TV) — In the first US military deployment in Taiwan since 1979, a US military C-130 transport aircraft has landed in southern city of Tainan.

The US is also sending two heavy-lift military helicopters to Taiwan, a move that Washington claims is intended to help the victims of the Typhoon Morakot.

The aircraft had flown from a US military airbase in Okinawa, Japan, AFP reported.

The US aircraft has landed in Taiwan as China had also offered to provide helicopters to Taiwan; the Taipei-based United Daily News quoted Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, as saying.

The offer would include Russian-made helicopters, currently the world’s biggest, which Chinese rescuers used during last year’s earthquake in China, the report said.

China has traditionally opposed any US military deployment to Taiwan, but it still remains to be seen if the grim situation in Taiwan would soften China’s stance.

Over 1,300 people are still stranded in Taiwan, a week after the typhoon struck the island.

The official death toll stands at 124, but Taiwan has warned that the number could rise to over 500, with hundreds feared buried beneath the rubble.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and bilateral ties between Taipei and Beijing are conducted through semiofficial channels to circumvent the touchy issue of sovereignty.

In 1979, the US troops based on the island left after Washington shifted its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.