The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday declined to respond to a local media report that Taiwan had completed the design of its own third-generation fighter jet with Russian expertise, saying only that Taiwan has never stopped research and development for new weapons.
A story published by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoted an unnamed military official as saying that the government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), which sent personnel to Russia for instruction from Russian experts, has finished designing the third-generation warplane.
It did not specify which Russian agency or company was involved.
The China Times quoted the official as saying that during the design process, Taiwanese and Russian experts studied the design of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), the US’ most advanced fighter jet, but added that it was shorter than the JSF.
To deter any possible attack from China, Taiwan has sought to buy the more advanced F-16C/Ds, or JSFs, but Washington has not approved the request, so far agreeing only to upgrade Taiwan’s F-16A/Bs. This has prompted Taiwan to build its own third-generation warplanes for self-defence, the paper said. The F16C/D deal, worth at least NT$100 billion (US$3.3 billion), would have been Washington’s biggest arms sale to Taiwan since 2001.
“It is always the ministry’s job to continue development and research on new weapons to fit the needs of defending the country. But details of the process will always be something on which we cannot comment,” MND spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said yesterday when asked for response to the China Times story.
Yu did not deny nor confirm the report. When asked for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方), a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, said it was not a good idea to seek help from Russia.
Lin said he did not believe that Russia would turn its back on China by helping Taiwan develop new jet fighters.
“I would buy it if you said that Russia would simply sell us engines. But, to help us develop new engines? Excuse me, I just don’t buy it,” Lin said.
Lin said he was optimistic about buying F-16C/D Falcons from the US, adding that he would lead a team to the US in September to help the MND seal the F-16C/D deal with the US government.
Also See: China envoy to visit Washington
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS