Minister: F-16 shipment to Taiwan is delayed

The arrival of 66 F-16V fighter jets from the US to Taiwan has been delayed due to pandemic-related production and supply-chain problems. The $8 billion contract signed in 2019 did not include financial penalties for late delivery and the US promised to provide spare parts ahead of schedule. The new shipments would bring Taiwan’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 aircraft, making it the largest in Asia. Taiwan is working to upgrade its aircraft in response to the heightened tensions with mainland China, with Beijing and Washington accusing each other of dangerous escalation in the Taiwan Strait and the larger Asia-Pacific. Beijing held large-scale military drills around Taiwan last month following the visit of the island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, to the US.

The US formally upholds the One-China policy by refraining from officially recognizing Taiwan as an independent state but has sold weapons to the island and promised to defend it from a potential attack from the mainland. In April, a group of US legislators that visited Taiwan urged the White House to speed up delivery of $21 billion worth of backlogged weapon sales promised to Taipei.