Advertisement
Taiwan dismisses talk of US F-16V jet swap deal with Ukraine and Poland
- Island’s defence ministry says it’s still on track to get its 66 fighters by 2026
- US secretary of state says US is exploring the idea of supplying fighter jets to Poland if Poland sends its Soviet-era aircraft to Ukraine
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
17
The US will deliver 66 F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan as scheduled, the island’s military said on Tuesday, amid reports that the aircraft could be diverted to Poland in a deal to help Ukraine.
“We have heard nothing about that from [the US] and our air force has been keeping close contact with [the US] on the progress” of the delivery of the F-16Vs, defence ministry spokesman Shih Shun-wen said in Taipei.
He said the United States would start sending the 66 planes to Taiwan batch by batch from next year until 2026 as scheduled.
Advertisement
His comments followed a New York Times report on Sunday that the US might compensate Poland with the F-16s ordered by Taiwan in exchange for Poland sending its Soviet-era fighter jets to help Ukraine fight Russian forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the US Congress on Saturday for more lethal military aid, especially Russian-made jets that Ukrainian pilots knew how to fly.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x