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.
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
RSS