Defense Minister Yen De-fa says the purchase of F-16V fighter jets from the US will help create a deterrent against Chinese aggression. Yen was speaking at the Legislature on Wednesday.
KMT lawmaker Lin Te-fu asked whether the jets might fail to effectively secure Taiwan’s national security. He asked if the purchase of the jets might instead be a form of protection money, paid in return for continued US support.
Yen said that China has around 700 fighter jets stationed near Taiwan in its southeast. He said that the purchase of the new jets would bring the number of Taiwanese fighter jets up to 350, creating a roughly 2:1 ratio. He said that this more equal balance of firepower, combined with Taiwan’s defensive missiles and other military capabilities, could serve to deter any Chinese threat.
Yen also told another lawmaker that a project to upgrade a fleet of F-16A/B jets to F-16V jets will be completed by the end of 2023.