The US has assembled the first of the 66 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70 airframes ordered by Taiwan, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday.
Koo made the remarks on the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on damage to undersea Internet cables reportedly inflicted by a Chinese ship.
Photo courtesy of the US Air Force
Asked to comment on the US delivery of arms to Taiwan, Koo said that aircraft from the order had been assembled and the two nations are working together to facilitate the process.
The ministry has dispatched a team to the US and is holding monthly teleconference calls to ensure the jets would obtain the relevant certifications in two months, he said.
The ministry was heartened by comments from US president-elect Donald Trump’s presumptive national security adviser Mike Waltz that the incoming administration is committed to the speedy delivery of arms to Taiwan, he added.
The delivery of the long-awaited multiple-role fighters has been repeatedly delayed by supply chain woes that pushed the expected delivery date from the fourth quarter of last year to March this year.
Koo in October last year said 19 of the F-16C/D Block 70 jets slated to be delivered to Taiwan were in the pipeline and all 66 are expected to be delivered by next year.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS