(Taipei) Taiwan thanked the United States on Thursday for approving the sale of equipment and parts for F-16 fighter jets, saying the military support would help the island face the Chinese threat.
Posted at 8:52 a.m.
The sale will allow Taiwan to “meet the needs of defense operations,” Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.
Military intimidation will not contribute to regional peace and we call on the Chinese Communist Party to stop all kinds of irrational behavior against Taiwan.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed this sale on the social network to the escalation of China’s aggression.
The US Defense Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on Wednesday these two contracts which mainly concern F-16 spare parts, for a total amount of 300 million US dollars in total (nearly 411 million THAT).
The agency, part of the United States Department of Defense, is responsible for providing financial assistance to United States allies and military partners.
If Washington has recognized Beijing to the detriment of Taipei as a legitimate power since 1979, the United States remains the island’s most powerful ally and its main arms supplier.
In May, China organized large-scale military maneuvers around Taiwan, three days after Lai Ching-te’s inauguration speech perceived by China as an “admission of the independence” of the island.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it has not yet succeeded in reunifying with its territory since the end of the civil war and the coming to power of the communists in 1949.
