The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday denied reports that Taiwan’s latest bid to purchase new F-16 aircraft was turned down by the US Department of State on Friday.
In an article on Monday, Defense News reported that the State Department had turned down a request by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Washington to submit a new official letter of request (LOR) to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) for the 66 F-16C/Ds, which Taiwan has sought to purchase for years.
The article said the State Department had blocked the request on behalf of the US National Security Council.
A US source independently confirmed to the Taipei Times yesterday that the request was turned down.
This would be the fourth failed attempt to submit an LOR for the F-16s and the first by President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration. The first three bids were made between June 2006 and February 2007 under former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Citing an unnamed US defense source, Defense News described the situation as a catch-22 for Taiwan, in which TECRO was unable to submit an LOR to the AIT because the institute was under orders by the State Department to deny it, while TECRO was told by the State Department that the LOR could not be processed because it had not been received.
However, ministry spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) yesterday denied the claims by Defense News, saying that "no such thing had happened."
This latest development occurs as Taiwan’s allies in Washington are increasing pressure on US President Barack Obama’s administration to release the F-16s to help Taiwan’s air force keep pace with an increasingly modern Chinese air force. US Senator John Cornyn last week threatened to block a full US Senate review for the nomination of William Burns as US deputy state secretary until Washington agreed to receive an LOR on the aircraft and release a long-delayed report to the US Congress on the balance of air power in the Taiwan Strait.
Defense analysts maintain that Cornyn’s move created a window of opportunity for Taiwan to immediately submit a new LOR.
Lockheed, the manufacturer of the F-16, said that unless it receives new orders, the line for the F-16C/Ds is scheduled to close at the end of 2013.
While efforts to acquire the F-16C/Ds remain stalled, a US$4.5 billion program to refurbish Taiwan’s fleet of 146 F-16A/Bs it had acquired in 1992 is expected to commence later this year or next year.
The Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空工業), a government-owned civilian and military aircraft manufacturer, will also deliver a batch of 71 refurbished Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF) aircraft to the air force tomorrow as part of a US$588 million program to provide IDFs with a longer operational range and greater payload. The first IDFs entered service in 1994.
Some analysts see the IDF upgrades as a potential alternative should Taiwan fail to make headway on the F-16C/Ds. However, analysts are adamant that the technologically refreshed IDFs and F-16A/Bs will not be enough to counter the growing threat posed by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and that the F-16C/Ds will be needed to replace Taiwan’s F-5 and Mirage 2000 aircraft that are scheduled for retirement within the decade.
Additional reporting by CNA
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
RSS