On Wednesday, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the U.S. State Department has approved an $80 million sale of spare and repair parts for F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan.
The sale will help “improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement.
Taiwan’s defence ministry thanked the United States, stating that the sale of F-16 fighter jet parts would strengthen the combat and defence capabilities of its air force. They also mentioned that the deal would be completed in July.
“With normalised grey-zone harassment, the Chinese Communist Party attempted to squeeze our naval and air training space and response time, as well as limiting our rights of self-defence,” it said in a statement.
China has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island, which Beijing claims as its own territory over Taipei’s strong objection.
China’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Talking to reporters in parliament on Thursday, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said Taiwan must boost its self defence capabilities to be a part of “effective deterrence” in the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
“But for Taiwan-U.S. military cooperation, there are many things we can only do, not tell,” he said.
With Inputs from Reuters
