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US to extend its training of Taiwanese fighter pilots

The US has agreed to extend a Taipei-Washington pact to train Taiwan's F-16 pilots for five more years, a Taiwanese newspaper said yesterday.

Quoting an unnamed US official, a Chinese-language newspaper said the US renewed the agreement for training Taiwanese F-16 pilots at Luke Airbase in Arizona for another five years, starting next year.

"The training program covers air-to-air combat, night attack, blockage over the sea, air engagement and air command," the paper said in a dispatch from Washington.

The US agreed to sell Taipei150 F-16 warplanes in 1992 when Taipei was negotiating to buy 60 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets from France.

The air force sent an F-16 squadron to Luke Airbase in 1997 under a training program which ends at the end of this year.

The air force fleet consists of 150 F-16s, 60 Mirage 2000-5s and 130 self-built IDFs (Indigenous Defense Fighter).

The purchase of the F-16s and Mirage 2000-5s has given Taiwan an edge over the Chinese air force, but some analysts believe Taipei could lose this air superiority if the US sells F-16s to Pakistan and India, close allies of China, and if the EU lifts the ban on arms sale to China.

On March 25, President George W. Bush authorized the sale of F-16s to Pakistan to reward Islamabad for joining in the US-led war against terrorism.

Simultaneously Bush also allowed US firms to sell warplanes, including upgraded F-16s and F-18s, to India.

Taiwanese analysts have expressed fear that Pakistan and India would pass on the F-16 technology to China and help the Chinese air force in preparing an attack on Taiwan.

Meanwhile China is also seeking to buy Mirage warplanes from France. In April, Hong Kong's Commercial Daily reported that China has been negotiating since late last year to buy 210 Mirage 2000-9CS from Dasault Aviation, and could get the jets as soon as the EU lifts the arms sales ban on China.

The paper reported China plans to send 40 pilots to France this month to learn how to fly Mirage jets, and take delivery of the first 30 Mirage 2000-9CS at the end of next year.
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