Taiwan set to receive upgrade of fighter jets

The Obama administration has formally notified the US Congress of a potential $5.3 billion (£3.38bn) upgrade of Taiwan’s existing fleet of US-built F-16 fighter jets, a move that China is certain to oppose.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said yesterday that the package will contribute to regional peace by improving Taiwan’s defence capability in the face of a continued threat from China.

“Mainland China’s military expansion and threat against the ROC still exist,” Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

ROC is short for the Republic of China, Taiwan’s formal name.

“Improving our defence capability is a crucial and only measure to sustain regional security and stable development across the [Taiwan] strait.”

The agreement covers an upgrade the island’s fleet of F-16 A/B fighters. Taiwan has said it will continue to seek the more advanced F-16 C/D fighters as well as diesel-electric submarines.

China has shown no sign of ending an arms build-up that is focused on Taiwan, and past US arms sales to Taipei have angered Beijing, which has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Taiwan, which for years relied on better military equipment and training to deter Beijing, has been hobbled by the refusal of any country aside from the US to sell it weapons, fearing an angry response from China.

The military advantage Taiwan once boasted in the air has slipped away over the past decade as China has modernised.

In January 2010, China froze military-to-military ties and threatened sanctions against US firms after president Barack Obama approved a potential $6.4bn (£4bn) arms sale to Taiwan left over from the administration of George W. Bush.