By Peter Millership

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials met on Tuesday with a delegation from Taiwan to offer Taipei submarines, destroyers (驱逐舰）and aircraft in an arms deal that Beijing greeted with ``serious concern'' and a formal protest.

President Bush  will offer Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade （叛离的）province, the largest arms package in a decade but will turn down a request for the sophisticated Aegis （宙斯盾）naval air defense system, White House officials said.

Beijing, which had warned the sale of advanced weapons by the United States to Taiwan could have a ``devastating effect'' on relations, urged Washington not to go ahead with the sale, while the news in Taipei was greeted with elation.

China's ambassador to the United States, Yang Jiechi, made the protest to Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman. Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry denounced the decision.

Bush's arms deal is the most expensive and robust since his father agreed to sell Taipei F-16 fighters in 1992 but after Tuesday's talks between the two sides there was no word as to what would be on Taiwan's shopping list.

Offering to help Taiwan buy submarines marks a turnaround for the United States, which for years refused to sell them on the grounds they were offensive rather than defensive weapons.

Bush Defends Deal

In an interview posted on Tuesday on the Washington Post Web site, Bush said the deal was ``the right package for this moment.''

``The Chinese must understand that we've got common interests; but there's going to be some areas where we disagree and, evidently, one area where we disagree is whether or not the United States ought to provide defensive arms for Taiwan, which I have done,'' Bush said.

U.S. officials said the arms deal was intended to balance China's air defense buildup in the region, but added they would also send a diplomatic message to Beijing that ``things could be different'' if it acted to reduce cross-Straits tensions.

Bush's relations with China are strained because of a tense showdown over an April 1 collision between a U.S. EP-3 spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet and by former Taiwan President Lee Teng-Hui's impending visit to the United States.

Grossman raised the return of the U.S. spy plane, which landed in China after the collision, with China's ambassador.

``Undersecretary Grossman has made clear that we need to continue discussion of plans for the return of our aircraft,'' State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said.

U.S. officials said the plane saga （传奇，事件）did not affect the arms offer, which was based on perceptions of the Chinese threat.

Under the arms deal, Washington would sell Taiwan four Kidd class destroyers, a dozen anti-submarine P-3 ``Orion'' submarine hunter aircraft and eight diesel submarines which would be built in Europe, plus other weapons.

Asked which items were likely to be accepted and which rejected, C.J. Chien-Jen Chen, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's unofficial embassy in Washington, told Reuters, ``I don't know, it's a long process.''

He intimated that the decision-making process would be relatively quick, however, adding: ``The items we requested, certainly we should have thought about them before.''

Chen declined to comment on specific items in the package or on details of the discussions that took place on Tuesday.

China Angry

Despite the absence of the anti-missile system on the White House list, the big arms deal was condemned by China and analysts said they expected some form of retaliation.（报复)

``China has viewed with serious concern the related reports,'' Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said, referring to media reports of the arms package.

``China has consistently opposed the sale of weapons to Taiwan, and resolutely opposed the sale of Kidd class destroyers, P-3 ``Orion'' planes and diesel-powered submarines and other advanced weapons,'' she said. ``All of these are advanced weapons,'' she told a news conference.

Washington brushed aside China's concerns.

``The best way to address this ... is for China to take fewer actions, rather than more, in terms of its military presence across the Strait from Taiwan so that there is less of a threat to Taiwan,'' Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer  said.

The arms deal, which could cost Taiwan several billion dollars depending on what it decides to buy, falls under the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires the United States to sell weapons necessary to Taiwan's defense even though Washington recognizes Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China.

Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters it would be up to Taiwan to decide what weapons it wanted. Asked about charges from Beijing that submarines were offensive and not defensive, Quigley said: ``I would disagree.''

Quigley said the United States could facilitate a submarine purchase by Taiwan from other nations that build such vessels, including Germany, the Netherlands or Italy.

Bush put off the decision on Taiwan's request for four Arleigh Burke class destroyers equipped with the Aegis system, tucking it away as a bargaining chip in U.S.-China relations.

Some analysts said Taiwan may refuse the Kidd destroyers preferring to see if Bush later approves the Aegis sale.