TAIWAN: Taiwan’s order of 66 advanced new F-16V jets from the United States will not be completed until 2026 because of software issues, Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said, marking the latest delay in the United States weapons deliveries since manufacturers turned their attention to Ukraine after Russian invaded the previous year.
According to Voice of America, earlier this month, the self-ruling island’s defence minister said the delay resulted from supply chain disruptions. Still, he said the holdup was due to flight control software problems.
Chiu said, “In principle, by 2026, the 66 aircraft will all arrive. There is absolutely no issue with this.”
The United States approved the 8 billion dollars sale of Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 jets to Taiwan in 2019. According to Reuters, once complete, the deal would take the island’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, the most in Asia.
The defence buildup is essential to Taiwan because of increasing concerns that China would try to take the island — which Beijing claims as its own — by force.
Since last year, Taiwan has complained about delays in the United States weapons deliveries, including anti-aircraft missiles. Manufacturers have turned supplies to Ukraine after Russia invaded the previous year.
But to the United States House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, delivering weapons to Taiwan is an urgent priority.
The committee adopted ten policy recommendations for Congress, including that the United States should deliver the “backlogged” army equipment Taiwan had ordered. Many other recommendations are related to bolstering Taiwan’s defence capabilities.
TEN FOR TAIWAN: This morning the Select Committee adopted 10 bipartisan policy recommendations for the 118th Congress, which will surge hard power across the international dateline and strengthen deterrence in the Taiwan Strait.
📄Read the full report: https://t.co/Zm6EeaQnjX pic.twitter.com/NTbLtp1F64
— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) May 24, 2023
Taiwanese officials said the first two F-16s jets in the order were supposed to have been delivered between October and December of this year but have been pushed back to between July and September of 2024.
Lockheed spokesperson Liz Lutz said that the company is working “closely with the United States government to address challenges in support of United States security objectives.”
While visiting Taiwan the previous month, Representative Michael McCaul, the United States House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said he was trying to speed up the arms deliveries.
He said, “On the arms issue, I sign off on those deliveries, and we’re doing everything in our power to expedite this.”
Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the United States-Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, told VOA Mandarin that foreign military help for Taiwan is “just one piece of the puzzle.”
