On the eve of US President Barack Obama’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Washington-based Heritage Foundation has released a detailed paper urging the White House to sell F-16C/D jets to Taiwan.
Arms sales to Taiwan are thought certain to be raised and condemned by Xi during the two-day California meeting which opened yesterday. The new paper, written by research fellow in Chinese political and security affairs Dean Cheng (成斌), says that Obama and the US Congress should “proceed with haste” in filling Taiwan’s longstanding request for the fighters.
While there is considerable US Congressional support for the sale, insiders say that Obama believes that it would not benefit Taipei enough to warrant the problems it would cause for US relations with China. And the sale — if it came soon — could end hope of Obama developing good relations with Xi.
Nevertheless, Cheng’s forceful paper may encourage Republicans on Capitol Hill to put more pressure on the Obama administration to provide Taiwan with the planes. Cheng says that within Taiwan there has been a “growing undercurrent of discussion” over whether to drop the F-16C/D request and instead seek the new F-35s which are still under development.
“Taiwan’s official position is that it needs new fighters that are more advanced than the upgraded F-16A/Bs currently in the pipeline,” Cheng says, adding, however, that the focus on the F-35 “belies political reality.”
“The United States is highly unlikely to sell the F-35 to Taiwan in the foreseeable future,” he says. “It is necessary to focus on what is doable.”
The F-16C/D, properly configured, meets Taiwan’s needs, is more advanced than upgraded A/B models and would be available in a reasonable timeframe, Cheng says.
Upgrading of Taiwan’s existing fleet of F-16s — agreed to by Obama last year — improves the planes’ survivability and capability, but cannot overcome some significant disadvantages. The airframes are nearly 20 years old and although their electronics will be improved, the planes will not be “rejuvenated” and “metal fatigue will eventually show,” the report says.
No upgrade has been authorized for the aircraft’s engines and as their radar and avionics systems are being thoroughly modified, the number of aircraft available for duty will be reduced for an extended period. Also, as Taiwan’s Ching-kuo fighters, Mirage 2000-5s and F-5Es become obsolete in the near future they will not be replaced, further reducing the nation’s combat capabilities.
Cheng says that the F-16C/Ds are more capable than the A/B models, with improved air-to-ground weapons delivery capability and electronics designed to support a variety of ordnance, including the Joint Standoff Weapon, Joint Direct Attack Munitions and the Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser which allows for improved delivery of submunitions.
“This will significantly enhance the ability of the ROCAF [Republic of China Air Force] to conduct close air-support operations,” Cheng says.
Furthermore, if the air force acquired the F-16C/D Block 52, Block 52+ or Block 60 versions, the new aircraft would be equipped with F100-PW-229 engines, giving it a superior performance, Cheng says.
“Finally, there is the political and physical reality that the US will not sell Taiwan the F-35 until, at the earliest, it has equipped its own squadrons and those of its consortium partners, as well as previously confirmed customers,” Cheng says.
This means that Taiwan would have to wait behind not only the US Air Force, but also Britain’s Royal Air Force, as well as the air forces of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Israel and Singapore.
“At the earliest, Taiwan could not hope to purchase the F-35 before 2025, with deliveries likely sometime beyond that point,” Cheng says.
The report says that Obama and the US Congress should focus on the stated goal of closing Taiwan’s fighter gap.
“Filling Taiwan’s longstanding request for F-16C/Ds would do that,” it adds.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard