Several US lawmakers on Friday voiced their support for a plan by US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell updated F-16 jets to Taiwan.
US Senator Marco Rubio commended the Trump administration for moving forward with strengthening Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
“As the Chinese government and [the Chinese] Communist Party seek to extend their authoritarian reach in the region, it is critical that the United States continues to enhance our strategic relationship with our democratic partner Taiwan through regular and consistent support,” Rubio said in a statement.
Photo: AP
“This move is an important step in support of Taiwan’s self-defense efforts, and I urge the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee to quickly advance this critical arms sale,” Rubio added.
The Ministry of National Defense in late February requested 66 F-16s valued at US$8 billion, but progress seemed to stall as the Trump administration did not inform the US Congress of an arms sale before the July 26 recess.
The US Department of State on Thursday submitted the arms sale package to Congress for an informal review, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter.
US Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, and US Senator John Cornyn joined Rubio in praising the sale.
“The sale of the F-16 aircraft will help Taiwan maintain a sufficient self-defense capability and field a capable, modern fighter fleet — all the more important to deter aggression, given Beijing’s increasing assertiveness and military buildup,” the two senators said in a joint statement.
“We commend President Trump and his administration for their support of Taiwan and a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” they said.
US Representative Michael McCaul, ranking member of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and US Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the committee, expressed similar views.
“The sale of F-16s to Taiwan sends a strong message about the US’ commitment to security and democracy in the Indo-Pacific region,” the lawmakers said.
According to Agence France-Presse, Lockheed Martin Corp, manufacturer of the fighter jets, said that the newest F-16 version, the F-16 Block 70/72, is equipped with advanced avionics, weapons and radar technology lacking in earlier models.
Taiwan in 1992 purchased a fleet of old F-16s, which have undergone several upgrades since their purchase.
The Republic of China Air Force on Friday said on Facebook that it plans to set up a new F-16 wing when the new jets are acquired.
Acquiring more F-16s is the quickest way for the air force to become battle ready, it said, adding that it has 144 F-16A/B jets in service, so personnel can be quickly retrained on the new model and the logistics rapidly updated.
The US State Department last month approved the sale of US$2.2 billion in weapons to Taiwan, including 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger missiles, a move that triggered criticism from Beijing.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS