The administration of US President Donald Trump has given tacit approval to Taiwan’s request to buy more than 60 F-16 Fighting Falcons, people familiar with the matter said.
Trump’s advisers encouraged Taiwan to submit a formal request for the jets, built by Lockheed Martin, which it did this month, said the people, who asked not be identified discussing internal discussions.
Any such request would need to be converted into a formal proposal by the US departments of defense and state, and then US Congress would have 30 days to decide whether to block the sale.
Photo: AP
The administration of then-US president Barack Obama in 2011 rejected a similar Taiwanese request over concern about antagonizing China.
However, Trump has chosen a more aggressive approach at a time when his administration is locked in difficult negotiations with China over trade.
It is unclear whether a potential F-16 sale could become a bargaining chip in those discussions or is solely an outgrowth of the administration’s renewed focus on Taiwan, a long-time US ally that was once seen as a bulwark against Chinese expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
The White House declined to comment on Taiwan’s request, which several of the people said also includes tanks.
In October last year, US Vice President Mike Pence assailed China for moves to chip away at Taiwan’s diplomatic presence overseas and its ramping up of pressure on private companies to refer to Taiwan as a province of China.
In announcing its request for the airplanes, Taiwan did not say how many jets it was seeking.
The request followed a lengthy back and forth with the administration after the US swatted down Taiwan’s earlier request for Lockheed’s more modern F-35 Lighting II.
The US Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, which oversees such weapons sales, declined to comment on the possibility of the weapons sales.
Even if a sale is approved by Congress and a contract is reached with Lockheed, the airplanes probably would not be going to Taiwan anytime soon.
Lockheed spokeswoman Carolyn Nelson said that the first F-16s to be built at a new facility in Greenville, South Carolina, would not roll off the production line until 2021, and those are committed to Bahrain.
The jets were previously built in Fort Worth, Texas.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton is a long-time supporter of Taiwan, and some advisers on the US National Security Council have urged a more aggressive posture, including sending more US warships through the Taiwan Strait.
As president-elect, Trump shattered precedent and infuriated China by taking a call from President Tsai-Ing-wen (蔡英文) and calling into question the US’ continuing commitment to the “one China” policy that underpinned the establishment of ties between Beijing and Washington under then-US president Richard Nixon.
Trump has since affirmed US support for “one China,” while also making clear that protecting Taiwan is a priority in his dealings with leaders in Beijing.
SOURED RELATIONS: Program director Jennifer Liu said the move to Taipei was due to a ‘perceived lack of friendliness’ from Beijing Language and Culture University Harvard University is to relocate its summer Mandarin program from Beijing to National Taiwan University (NTU) starting next year, a student publication reported on Thursday last week. Run at Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) since 2004, the Harvard Beijing Academy is to become the Harvard Taipei Academy once it moves to Taiwan, Crimson magazine reported. Program director Jennifer Liu (劉力嘉) attributed the decision to a “perceived lack of friendliness” from the Chinese university, potentially due to shifting political winds. Liu told the magazine that BLCU in recent years had failed to provide a single dorm for the students or separate accommodation of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday issued a rebuttal to former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who said a fistfight in the Legislative Yuan might have been “provoked from the outside” to destabilize Taiwan. Rice made the comment in an online discussion about the AUKUS alliance of Australia, the UK and the US hosted by the Policy Exchange forum in London on Thursday. On mention of Taiwan, she was quoted by The Australian as predicting that Beijing would use paramilitary forces and acts of sabotage to destabilize the nation. “There was a fistfight in the Taiwanese parliament a few weeks ago
ADVANCING TECH: With revenue on target to reach US$15.4 billion, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker said it is looking to produce 3-nanometer chips later this year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday announced plans to build a new plant in Japan next year to produce 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer chips in its latest effort to expand its global manufacturing footprint. The Japanese fab is to start operations in 2024, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said, ending months of speculation. “We have received strong commitment to supporting this project from our customers and the Japanese government,” TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told a quarterly investors’ conference. “We believe the expansion of our global manufacturing footprint will enable us to better serve our customers’ needs and reach global talent,
KNOWN ISSUES: Fire safety issues were found in the 40-year-old building, which previously housed a theater and restaurants, in 2019, last year and May, an official said Forty-six people died and 41 were injured in a building fire that raged out of control for hours overnight in Kaohsiung, authorities said yesterday. Flames and smoke billowed from the lower floors of the 13-story Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building on Fubei Road in Yancheng District (鹽埕), as firefighters tried to douse the blaze from the street and aerial platforms. The death toll rose steadily through the day as rescue workers searched the combined commercial and residential building. By late afternoon, authorities said 32 bodies had been found, while a further 14 people who showed no signs of life were among 55
RSS