The Taiwanese legislature passed a special budget on Tuesday authorizingfunding for the autonomous island’s controversial purchase of dozens ofF-16V Viper fighter jets from the US.
Money for Taiwan’s $8 billion purchase of 66 Viper fighter jets was setaside on Tuesday via a special budget bill passed by the Yuan, the island’slegislature. The bill provides a legal basis for dispensing funds on thedeal until the end of 2026, according to Channel News Asialink.
The US State and Defense Departments approvedlink the sale in late August amid protest from Beijing, which considers theTaiwan government illegitimate and the island to be a breakaway province ofChina. By contrast, the government of Taiwan, formally called the Republicof China, believes it’s the only legitimate government of China and thatits power on the mainland was usurped by the communist Red Army in 1949when the People’s Republic was formed. Beijing celebrated the 70thanniversary of that event at the beginning of the month.
The US had steady relations with the Republican government before thecommunist victory, and Washington continued that relationship for decadesafter, only switching diplomatic recognition to the PRC in Beijing once itbecame advantageous to do so in the late 1970s.
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Despite this, the US has continued an informal relationship with the Taipeigovernment, funneling them outdated weapons and money in a bid to keep theisland out of Beijing’s hands.
