Taiwan insists F-16 fighter jet sale still in works
by Joel Gehrke
April 06, 2019 03:14 PM President Trump’s trade negotiations with China have not derailed a plan for Taiwan to purchase new fighter jets, according to the island government.
That's despite three U.S. officials saying otherwise this week.
“The sale had not been shelved,†a spokesman with Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs ministry said Saturday in a message carried by state-owned media.
Taiwan wants new F-16 fighter jets and U.S.-made tanks to help deter any potential invasion from China, which regards the island as a breakaway province. Officials in Taipei, the last bastion of the Chinese government overthrown in the 1949 Communist Revolution, reacted quickly to a report suggesting that Trump’s team has put a hold on the arms deals in the midst of a trade war with China.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/taiwan-insists-f-16-fighter-jet-sale-still-in-works
