{UAH} THE POWER TO GO AFTER CHINA OBAMA NEVER OWNED

Trump administration approves F-16 sale to Taiwan over Chinese opposition

In this Feb. 24, 2019, file photo, U.S. fighter aircraft F-16 perform aerobatic maneuvers on the last day of Aero India 2019 at Yelahanka air base in Bangalore, India. The Trump administration has informed Congress it plans to sell F-16

 

By Lauren Meier - The Washington Times - Friday, August 16, 2019

The Trump administration on Friday gave the green light to an $8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan in a move that is all but certain to anger China amid a bitter trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

The State Department submitted the sale’s package for “informal review” on Thursday, multiple media outlets reported. The deal marks the biggest weapons sale to Taiwan in modern history, and is almost certain to anger Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its sovereign territory.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch, Idaho Republican, said in a statement “these fighters are critical to improving Taiwan’s ability to defend its sovereign airspace, which is under increasing pressure” from Beijing.

The bipartisan leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a joint statement praising the sale, and said it “sends a strong message about the U.S. commitment to security and democracy in the Indo-Pacific.”

“As [China] steps up its military aggression in the region, we need to do all we can to support our friends around the world. … it will help deter China as they threaten our strategic partner Taiwan and its democratic system of government,” wrote panel Chairman Eliot Engel, New York Democrat, and Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, the committee’s ranking Republican.

But the plane deal could throw a wrench into ongoing trade talks between China and Washington, with negotiators from both sides set to meet next month to work out their differences on trade. The move could also complicate U.S.-Chinese ties on issues such as Hong Kong and North Korea.

Taiwan already uses the Lockheed Martin-made F-16V heavily in its air force. Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s pro-independence prime minister, has been building up the island’s military forces with U.S.- and domestically produced weaponry as a buffer against Chinese aggression.

Taiwan this week unveiled a new budget for the coming year that included an 8.3% jump in defense spending, the biggest such increase in more than a decade.

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