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.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS