Free Republic

Comments made by Taiwan's Air Force chief of staff have confused the issue over whether Taiwan actually wants F-16s. On May 13, Air Chief Ger Hsi-hsiung told members of the legislature that F-16s would meet Taiwan's immediate requirements, but the F-16 lacks the stealth and short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) capabilities that will be needed in the future. When asked by the legislature to identify the fighter better suited to meet Taiwan's long-term needs, Ger identified the F-35B Lightening II. Taiwan first requested 66 new F-16C/D Block 50/52 fighters from the United States in 2006, but Washington has been hesitant to...

An expert on military relations said that by the time F-16s could be sold to Taiwan, China would have hundreds of advanced J-10 jet fighters. As China showed off its new J-10 fighter planes this week, Taiwan supporters in the US Congress began pressing the White House once again to sell advanced F-16s to Taipei. Texas Republican Representative Kay Granger inserted “remarks” into the Congressional Record urging US President Barack Obama to “immediately move ahead with the sale of F-16s to Taiwan.” And Oklahoma Republican Senator James Inhofe was preparing to introduce a new resolution in the US Senate supporting...

Taiwan's air force said Friday the island had signed a contract worth 110 million US dollars with Eurocopter to acquire three helicopters for rescue missions. The EC225 long-range transport helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to the island at the end of 2011 to join the air force's rescue team, said Yin Shih-hsien, an official at the air force. The announcement comes amid an ongoing row between China and the United States over a US decision to deliver a 6.4-billion-dollar arms package to the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the European Aeronautic...