Air Force denies Pakistani media reports
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/03/01
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
Pakistani media claim a missile displayed by India was sold to Taiwan by the U.S. (By Associated Press)
UPDATE: Air Force denies missile is owned by Taiwan
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A missile shown in a picture by India as having been fired by Pakistan using its F-16 fighter jets in a surprise attack this week actually belonged to Taiwan, according to Pakistani media reports, but the island nation’s Air Force said the identification numbers did not match.
Pakistan shot down an Indian MiG-21 jet and captured its pilot and India took down a Pakistani military aircraft after India attacked militants in its traditional Muslim-dominated rival.
On Thursday, the Indian military showed a photo of the remains of a United States-made missile which it said could only have been fired from an F-16 fighter jet. The issue is sensitive because the U.S.-delivered jets can reportedly only be used against terrorists, not against other countries.
However, on Thursday, the Pakistani publication The Express Tribune reported the wreckage could have been part of a missile sold by the U.S. to Taiwan. The reporters tracked the identification numbers shown in the picture, AIM-120C-5 AMRAAM, to a U.S. Department of Defense list naming the missile as part of a US$2.38-million arms deal with Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
