Chiayi City, Taiwan: Taiwan held a ceremony on Thursday to assign the first Squadron of the F-16 of the most sophisticated Fighter, the US-made jet that will strengthen the island defense against the threat by China.
President Tsai Ing-Wen oversees the ceremony at the air base in the southern city of Chiayi with Sandra Oudkirk, Ambassador de facto Washington for Taiwan.
“This represents a firm promise of the Taiwan-US partnership,” Tsai said.
“I believe that in holding rapid values ​​to democratically, there will definitely be more countries with similar values ​​that will stand with us on this front.” The F-16V is an enhanced and far more sophisticated version of the Taiwanese F-16 fighters who are other agents from the 1990s.
The island also has a French-made Fatamorgana jet and Indigenous Warplane itself.
The fourth generation multi-role fighters, F-16V offer a more advanced radar system and more sophisticated weapons, navigation, and electronic war systems.
But it was less advanced than fifth generation fighters like China J-20, Russian Su-57 and F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft made by the US.
Taiwan was in the middle of an older 141 F-16 update to make it version V and also ordered 66 new F-16V.
The spread of the first squadron came when surging tensions between Beijing and Washington for Taiwan’s fate.
The self-ruled democracy with 23 million is claimed by Beijing who has promised one day to take the island, by forcing if necessary.
Saber-Rattling China has reached a new height under the President XI Jinping with Beijing sending a record number of fighter aircraft routinely crossing into the Taiwan Air Defense Zone and government media regularly publish invasion exercises.
In the past decade China has built its military to the point where Taiwanese and US military officials have voiced worries, he can immediately invade.
Washington diplomatically recognized Beijing over Taiwan.
But it opposes every effort to forcely change the status of Taiwan and is bound by the action of Congress to help the island maintain its own defense.
The F-16V agreement was approved by the Administration of Donald Trump when he spoke with China on a number of problems but his replacement Joe Biden had maintained similar support for Taipei.
Maintaining the Taiwan defense has become a rare bipartisan problem in Washington.
China has launched military sales to Taiwan and imposed sanctions on Giants ARMS as such as Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in response.