China has over the past few years ramped up its military pressure on the nation, sending about 2,000 reconnaissance aircraft and warplanes to the Taiwan Strait each year, Minister of National Defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) said yesterday at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Yen made the remarks at a question-and-answer session on the special budget for the 66 F-16V jets that the nation plans to buy from the US, while fielding a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) on the likelihood of Taiwan and the US engaging in joint military exercises in the Taiwan Strait or elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region.
Chiang said that thanks to the Link 16 tactical data network installed in the F-16Vs, the new jets would be able to communicate with US warplanes and share data.
He asked whether this would signal closer military cooperation with the US.
Washington has been unequivocally clear that it wants to work with Taiwan in realizing its Indo-Pacific strategy, which is aimed at “containing” China’s military presence, Chiang said.
Yen said that Taiwan’s participation in the Indo-Pacific strategy is a response to enemy activities.
Apart from the 2,000 aircraft, the Chinese Communist Party has also sailed aircraft carriers through the Strait, which has put the nation under greater military threat, Yen said.
He did not give a direct answer as to whether there would be joint military exercises with the US, saying only that Taiwan has had frequent exchanges with the US, and that it would continue asking Washington for opportunities to engage in joint humanitarian and military drills.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that the nation would cooperate with the US in any strategic planning related to the new jets.
Asked where the military could conduct long-distance training that is suitable to the F-16V’s range, Yen said the east coast, adding that the air force would delineate zones for training different types of aircraft.
KMT Legislator Tung Hui-chen (童惠珍) asked why the nation chose the F-16V over the F-35.
Yen said that the F-35 would not fit the nation’s need to strengthen its air force quickly.
As Taiwan is not involved in the research and development of the F-35, it would have to wait until 2044 if it were to buy this type of plane, he said.
An F-35 fleet would also be more expensive, as it would require a new maintenance system and building new control towers and runways, he said.
KMT Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) asked Yen what the estimated service life of the F-16Vs is, to which Yen replied: “30 years.”
Asked whether there are any plans to purchase next-generation fighters, Yen said the nation must continue bolstering its air combat capabilities, but there are no plans to buy more advanced warplanes.
Tseng then asked whether the nation would “buy whatever the US wants us to [buy],” to which Yen replied: “No.”
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