Taiwan hints F-16V fighter jets are back on its defence shopping list
- F-35s not an option amid concerns of a backlash from Beijing
- Taiwan might try again to buy 66 lower grade warplanes from the US
Taiwan has left open the possibility of reinforcing its defence capability with the purchase of 66 F-16V fighter jets from the United States, after abandoning controversial plans to upgrade its ageing air force with F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets.
Defence Minister Yen Te-fa said on Thursday that the self-ruled island needed to inject new blood into its air defence capability, after local news reports that the air force had abandoned its campaign to buy the F-35s in favour of reissuing a request to the US government for the F-16 fighters.
“As three types of the air force’s major warplanes are reaching their mid-life phase, we will take into account purchasing of the [new warplanes] as long as they meet our defensive needs,” Yen said.
The air force had dedicated significant effort to the assessment of its next-generation warplanes in the face of growing military threats from the enemy side, he added.
Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province awaiting reunification by force if necessary, has stepped up pressure on the island since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party was elected president in 2016 and refused to accept the one-China principle.
The three types of warplanes now in service include 144 F-16 A/B fighter jets, 55 Mirage 2000s and 129 indigenous Ching-kuo fighter jets, all of which have been in use since the 1990s.