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U.S. denies reports claiming it considered canceling F-16 sale to Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

08/25/2023 02:04 PM

Washington, Aug. 24 (CNA) The U.S. State Department on Thursday denied reports claiming Washington had considered canceling its sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan.

The denial came following a claim by US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) President Rupert Hammond-Chambers that the Biden Administration "took a hard look" last year at cancelling Taiwan's F-16V sale package announced in 2019 because it was not compatible with the U.S.' "so-called 'asymmetric approach'" regarding Taiwan's defense.

According to the USTBC president, the sale was allowed to proceed because the legal barriers to canceling it were too great.

He added that, aside from the F-16vs, the Biden administration's security assistance has focused "on munitions and sustainment of legacy systems."

In a statement emailed to CNA, however, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the reports claiming the U.S. government had considered canceling the sale to Taiwan of F-16 Block 70 fighter jets were "false," and reiterated its strong support for Taiwan updating its aging F-16 fleet and acquiring new aircraft, "in line with our longstanding policy to help Taiwan maintain a sufficient self-defense capability."

"This policy has remained consistent across eight different U.S. administrations and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," the spokesperson added.

In August 2019, the U.S. government announced the program to sell 66 F-16 C/D Block 70 fighter jets, known as the F-16V, to Taiwan in a potential US$8 billion package, a move that shows "better than ever" bilateral ties despite the two ending official diplomatic relations 40 years ago.

According to the estimate made at the time of announcement of the fighter jet sale to Taiwan, the first two F-16Vs under the program would be delivered to Taipei in 2023, and the completion of the delivery of the 66 F-16Vs was scheduled for the end of 2026.

But, the U.S. Air Force said in a statement in May that the delivery of the first two F-16 fighter jets has been delayed as "complex developmental challenges" had been encountered.

It added the U.S. Air Force said the American government, Taiwan and Lockheed Martine Corp. "are actively working to mitigate these delays."

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said the delays of the first two F-16s were down to U.S. efforts to improve the software used in the fighter jets, and that the delivery of the first batch was now scheduled for the third quarter of next year.

However, all of the 66 F-16s were still set to be delivered by the end of 2026, as originally scheduled, the ministry said.

On Wednesday, the United States government approved a proposed US$500 million sale of infrared search and track (IRST) systems and other related equipment for the F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, marking the 11th U.S. arms sale to the country since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

The last time the U.S. sold Taiwan fighter jets was in 1992, when then-President George H.W. Bush announced the sale of 150 F-16 A/B jets.

Since then, the jets have served as the backbone of the nation's air force.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh, Christie Chen, Joseph Yen and Frances Huang)

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