WASHINGTON – Two top American senators have urged President Donald Trump tosell F-35 fighter jet to Taiwan so that the small island nation can defenditself from China.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen is believed to have requested the purchaseof the F-35B vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft to bolsterTaiwan’s air defence. “Taiwan has a legitimate requirement to field amodern fighter fleet to address a myriad of defence contingencies.Therefore, Taiwan is requesting US support in their procurement of theF-35B,” Senators James M Inhofe and John Cornyn wrote in a letter to Trump.After years of military modernisation, China shows the ability to wage waragainst Taiwan for the first time since the 1950s, they said.
These fighters will have a positive impact on Taiwan’s self-defence andwould act as a necessary deterrent to China’s aggressive military postureacross the Asia-Pacific region, the senators said.”
The survivability of the F-35B and modern long-range sensors could helpTaiwan intercept Chinese missiles, promoting deterrence well into the nextdecade. The F-35B would not only provide a modern fifth-generation fighter,but would also bolster their capabilities in next-generation warfare,” theletter said.
However, if determined that release of the F-35B to Taiwan is premature,the two Senators hoped that Trump will instead make available additionalF-16Vs to address the “quantitative and qualitative challenges confrontingTaiwan’s fighter fleet”.
Taiwan already fields the F-16, and this would represent a cost-effectivesolution to Taiwan’s legitimate defense requirement for additionalfighters, they said. “If Taiwan’s air defence fleet is allowed todegenerate in number and quality, I am concerned that it would bedestabilising and would encourage Chinese aggression to ensue.
Additionally, I am concerned that Taiwan’s military weakness and theinability to mount a credible air force would place an undue burden onforward-deployed US forces in North East Asia,” the letter said.
In 1993, the US sold Taiwan 150 F-16s to bolster its air defences, ensuringthat Taiwan pilots flew US-made fighters to defend Taiwan’s sovereignairspace.
“Those F-16s have been the backbone of Taiwan’s air force for over 20years,” the senators wrote. Taiwan currently has approximately 144 F-16fighters in its inventory; 15 are in the US for training, and an additional24 will be offline on a rolling basis in their ongoing upgrade program thatruns through 2023.
“At a reasonable operational rate, Taiwan is likely able to field only 65F-16s at any given time in defense of the island. In my opinion, this isnot enough to maintain a credible defense,” Cornyn and Inhofe wrote. PTILKJ CHT