Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president praised military cooperation with the United States on Thursday as she commissioned the island’s first combat wing of F-16 aircraft refurbished with US assistance to reinforce the island’s defenses amid escalating tensions between Taipei and Beijing.
Frequent military drills involving China and the United States in the region have sparked worries of conflict sparked by a dispute over Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory.
Tsai said the initiative demonstrated the Taiwan-US partnership’s unwavering commitment at a ceremony in the southern Taiwanese city of Chiayi to present the first squadron of its most sophisticated F-16s, the F-16V.
“I believe that as long as we adhere to the values of democracy and freedom, more like-minded countries will stand on the same front with us,” she added, appearing on the same stage as Sandra Oudkirk, the United States’ top diplomat in Taiwan.
To Beijing’s chagrin, the United States has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan but is the island’s principal international backer and weaponry supplier.
Lockheed Martin Corp and Taiwan’s Aerospace Industrial Development Corp are leading the T$110 billion ($3.96 billion) F-16 modernization, which is the latest example of military cooperation between Washington and Taipei.
Taiwan is upgrading 141 F-16A/B jets into F-16Vs, 64 of which have already been updated, and has also purchased 66 new F-16Vs with upgraded avionics, missiles, and radar systems to better face down China’s air force, notably its J-20 stealth fighter.
Raytheon Technologies Corp.’s upgraded AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles may be carried by the F-16Vs.
The F-16s demonstrated their mettle with combat takeoffs and landings, as well as flying low information above the runway, against the backdrop of dance music blasted across the airbase.
Taiwan’s defenses will become “much stronger” when more F-16Vs enter service, according to Tsai.
Taiwan’s air force is well-equipped, but it pales in comparison to China’s.
In 2019, the United States approved an $8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, bringing the island’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 planes, making it the largest in Asia.
Lockheed Martin has been sanctioned by China for selling armaments to Taiwan.
