F-35 stealth fighters are the new-generation combat aircraft that best serve the nation’s air defense needs, a military official said yesterday, the latest hint that the government might not be as keen to acquire the F-16C/Ds it has been requesting for years.
The F-35s, with their short takeoff capability, would bolster the country’s defense capabilities, since airports are likely to be destroyed by enemy forces in the event of war, the official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
However, the fifth-generation aircraft remains under development and has faced a series of problems and rising costs. Defense analysts are also skeptical as to whether the US would agree to sell F-35s to Taiwan because of fears of possible technological transfer to China.
Photo: AFP / US NAVY
The official’s remarks came after the US House of Representatives voted earlier this month in favor of the US government selling 66 F-16C/Ds to Taiwan to help it close its military gap with China.
Taiwan has long lobbied Washington to sell it the fighters, but US President Barack Obama’s administration decided last year to offer Taiwan a retrofit package for its aging F-16A/B fleet rather than new F-16C/Ds.
Since then, the US Congress has pushed the Obama administration to also sell Taiwan the more advanced fighters, and following the House vote, the Ministry of National Defense issued a statement thanking it for its support.
However, it also said that Taiwan was reassessing its need for more advanced fighters because some of the functions of the upgraded F-16A/Bs were better than those of the F-16C/Ds, and it said that Taiwan, like Japan and Australia, would pursue the purchase of new-generation combat aircraft.
Because Japan and Australia have announced plans to buy F-35s, the statement triggered speculation that Taiwan’s interest in the F-16C/D aircraft had cooled. Asked about the issue, the official said the ministry would make an overall assessment of foreign purchases of military aircraft and make sure the defense budget is well spent.
“There are many options on the table,” the official said. “These include cutting the number of F-16C/Ds we have requested.”
In an interview, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) reiterated Taiwan’s gratitude for US support and urged Washington to continue selling Taiwan defensive weapons based on the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA).
The TRA, enacted in 1979 when Washington and Taipei severed diplomatic ties, obliges the US to help Taiwan defend itself.
In September last year, the US approved the sale of a retrofit package for F-16A/B aircraft and related training at an estimated cost of US$5.85 billion, which the Executive Yuan has ordered should be brought down to about US$3.7 billion.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS