In a joint letter sent to US President Barack Obama on Friday, 136 members of the House of Representatives called on the US administration to deal seriously with Taiwan’s self-defense by selling it F-16C/D fighter jets.
Initiated by Shelley Berkley, Gerald Connolly, Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Phil Gingrey, the co-chairs of the Taiwan Caucus, a congressional group friendly to Taiwan, the letter urged the Obama administration to come to a decision on the arms deal as soon as possible.
EXCLUDED
The US government, in its latest US$6.4 billion arms package to Taiwan announced in January, excluded the F-16C/Ds, which the congressmen said Taiwan desperately needs.
Taiwan’s air defense capability has been declining because of the aging of its fleet and China’s deployment of 1,300 short and medium-range missiles targeted at Taiwan, the letter said, necessitating the sale.
URGENT
With the F-16 jet’s production lines soon to be closed, selling F-16C/Ds to Taiwan has become more urgent, the letter said.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the US is obliged to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons.
RETIREMENT
Taiwan’s F-5E/F fighters are expected to be retired sometime between 2014 and 2017, reducing Taiwan’s fighter fleet from 387 to 327 aircraft, according to a report titled The Balance of Air Power in the Taiwan Strait released on Tuesday by the Washington-based US-Taiwan Business Council.
Furthermore, the French-made Mirage 2000-5s and Taiwan-developed IDFs may not extend their service beyond 2025, leaving Taiwan’s Air Force with only 145 F-16A/Bs acquired from the US in 1992, it said.
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