A US official confirmed on Thursday that Taiwan is seeking to buy as many as 66 advanced Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter aircraft over a period of five to 10 years to guard its skies from any Chinese assault.
The Chinese-language China Times reported earlier this month, without identifying any sources, that a Taiwanese delegation had proposed the procurement of F-16C/D fighters during an annual military meeting with Washington.
Such a deal could be worth as much as US$5.5 billion based on prices quoted by the Pentagon last month for up to 36 such F-16s and related gear sought by Pakistan.
If the US agrees to sell the fighters, it would be the biggest arms deal Washington has offered Taiwan since 2001, when US President George W. Bush agreed to provide Taiwan with eight diesel-powered submarines, 12 P-3C submarine-hunting aircraft and an improved version of Patriot missiles.
Taiwan's Air Force has been pursuing the Block 50/52 F-16C single-seat configuration and the F-16D two-seat version for at least a year, said the US official, who asked not to be named.
Its "top priority is to protect the skies," the official said. He said the F-16C/Ds would replace the Indigenous Defense Fighter, F-5 supersonic fighter and perhaps the Mirage 2000 multirole fighters built by Dassault of France.
Ministry of National Defense (MND) spokesman Wu Chi-fang (
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao (
A Washington-based representative of the Taiwanese Air Force declined to comment, as did Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon's biggest supplier.
US arms sales to Taiwan are particularly thorny. They are opposed by Beijing, mired in partisan wrangling in Taipei and viewed by Washington as a test of Taiwan's willingness to invest in its own defense and cut the danger of a cross-strait clash into which US forces could be drawn.
Since Bush approved Taiwan's request for submarines, anti-submarine warfare aircraft, four decommissioned Kidd-class destroyers and other weapons in 2001, most of these deals have been held up in Taiwan's legislature, highlighting similar potential snags to an F-16 deal, assuming it is approved by the US, as is expected.
Still, Taiwan must make a major fighter purchase in the next few years if it is to maintain a credible Air Force, said Richard Aboulafia of the Fairfax, Virginia-based TEAL Group, an aerospace consultancy.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS