The Minister of National Defense yesterday conceded that Taiwan faced difficulties in its pursuit of compensation from the US for the crash mid-last year of an F-16 fighter.
"We must understand that there was no contract between Taiwan and the US for the F-16 deal. The deal was actually car-ried out under the formula of a `foreign military sale,'" said Minister Wu Shih-wen (伍世文).
"There is no such thing as a `contract' in US foreign military sales," he said, going on to point out that, instead, the ministry had "a letter of offer and acceptance" issued by the US government.
"Whether we can get compensation for the crashed F-16 is yet to be determined," he added.
Wu made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature's defense committee in response to inquiries from lawmakers over the reported failure of the air force to secure compensation.
The F-16 crashed last August at an air base in Chiayi (嘉義), southern Taiwan, because of what was later discovered to be engine failure.
The pilot, who ejected, survived the incident.
Wu explained, "The letter of offer and acceptance resembles a contract, but does not have the equivalent legal value. It was meant to represent a willingness on the part of the US government to supply a friendly country with weapons or equipment."
"Given that the letter makes no mention of compensation, we have yet to ascertain whether we can get the compensation we are seeking," Wu said.
DPP lawmaker Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲) encouraged the military to go ahead with the request for compensation, which would be the first made by any country which has purchased F-16s from the US.
"On my understanding of US laws, although letters of offer and acceptance may not clearly define the mutual obligations of buyers and sellers, it is still legally possible to establish the liabilities of each side toward the other," Tsai said.
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