TAIPEI, June 2, 2009 (AFP) - Taiwan and China are expected to begin scheduled flights as early as July amid closer economic ties, officials here said Tuesday.

Five Taiwanese airlines are set to operate 135 regular flights weekly connecting four local cities with 19 Chinese destinations, said an official at Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration.

Meanwhile, a total of nine Chinese carriers will share among them 135 round-trip flights a week to the island, the official said.

The arrangements, pending final approval of the authorities on both sides, are expected to take effect as early as July, she said.

Negotiators from Taiwan and China agreed during a meeting on the mainland in April to expand air links further, in the latest of a series of talks that have reversed six decades of hostility.

The two sides, which held landmark talks last year that led to the first direct charter flights across the Taiwan Strait, agreed to increase the number of flights to 270 a week and upgrade them to scheduled flights.

Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, despite their split in 1949 after a civil war.

Ties have improved dramatically since Beijing-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou took office last year on a platform of boosting economic ties with the mainland.

-AFP