Epoch Times
Date: August 18, 2019
By: Chriss Street
Two US-made F-16 fighters in the air during an scramble take off at the eastern Hualien air force base on Jan. 23, 2013. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
Taiwan’s Air Force on August 16 posted a Facebook infographic declaring the United States will sell Taiwan its fourth generation advanced F-16V fighters in “Minguo 108,” or 2019 under Taiwan’s calendar marking the 1912 founding of the Republic of China.
Reports quickly followed that the Trump administration had submitted the fighter sale to Congressional leaders that had already given bipartisan support. The Trump initiative comes after the People’s Republic of China declared the sale would cross a “red line.”
Under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, United States has sold Taiwan $15 billion of military equipment since 2010. The Trump administration submitted a request to Congress in mid-July to sell $2.2 billion in M1 Abrams tanks, FIM-92 Stinger short-range surface-to-air missiles, and various hardware, ammunition and services to Taiwan. [FULL STORY]
