Chiayi, Taiwan: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen praised military cooperation with Washington on Thursday when he assigned the first fighter wing of F-16 fighters who were upgraded by A.S.
Helps to increase the island defense during increasing tensions between Taipei and Beijing.
Often Chinese and A.S.
Military exercises in this region have caused fear of conflict touched by a crisis over Taiwan who was ruled democratically, which Beijing claimed as his own territory.
TSAI said at the ceremony at the air base in the city of Chiayi Taiwan Selatan to uncover the first sophisticated F-16 squadron, F-16V, that the project showed the commitment of the Taiwan-U company.
Partnership.
“I believe that as long as we obey the values ​​of democracy and freedom, there will be more of the same-minded country standing in front of us,” he said, speaking on the same stage as US diplomats in Taiwan, Sandra Oudkirk.
The United States does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan but is a supporting supplier and the main international arm of the island, to Beijing’s anger.
UGRADE F-16 T $ 110 billion ($ 3.96 billion) was led by a manufacturer of Lockheed Martin Corp and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp.
(AIDC), and was the latest example of military cooperation between Washington and Taipei.
Taiwan has converted 141 JET F-16A / B into the F-16V type, 64 of which have been enhanced, and has also ordered 66 F-16V new, which has new avionics, weapons and radar systems to face down the Chinese Air Force, Including the J-20 stealth fighters.
F-16VS can bring Raytheon Technologies Corp.
Aym-9x Sidewinder Air-to-Air Missiles.
For the background of the dance music broadcast above the air base, the F-16 showed off their metal with battles taking off and landing, and flying low in the formation on the foundation.
Tsai said that more services were included by F-16V, Taiwan’s defense would be “even stronger”.
The Taiwan Air Force is well trained but dwarfed by China.
The United States in 2019 approved the sale of fighter jets F-16 $ 8 billion to Taiwan, an agreement that would take the F-16 Island fleet to more than 200 jets, the largest in Asia.
China has announced sanctions on Lockheed Martin to sell weapons to Taiwan.
($ 1 = 27.7470 Taiwanese dollars)