China sends fighter jets near Taiwan as US approves arms sale
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The US has approved the sale of additional F-16 fighter jets and equipment to Taiwan.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
TAIPEI – China sent the most warplanes near Taiwan in nearly two months, a move that comes as the United States approved the sale of US$619 million (S$833 million) worth of arms to the democratically run island.
Some 17 J-10 and four J-16 fighter jets were detected in the south-western part of the island’s air-defence identification zone (ADIZ) in a 24-hour period till 6am on Thursday, the Defence Ministry in Taipei said on Twitter.
Another eight Chinese aircraft and four vessels from the People’s Liberation Army Navy were also detected in Taiwan’s vicinity, although they did not enter the Taiwan’s ADIZ.
The US has approved the possible sale of F-16 munitions and related equipment to Taiwan, an agency under the State Department said on Wednesday. The main contractors are Raytheon Missiles and Defence, and Lockheed Martin – the two companies that Beijing sanctioned in February for selling weapons to Taipei.
China’s President Xi Jinping has recently scaled back the military pressure on Taiwan that has been one hallmark of his decade in power. That is likely because Taiwan is gearing up for an election in early 2024 that Beijing’s preferred negotiating partner, the opposition Kuomintang, has a chance at winning.
Still, US weapons sales to Taiwan tend to upset China, which sees them as a provocation. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. Taiwan, however, rejects China’s sovereignty claims.
The People’s Liberation Army sent 47 aircraft into the sensitive ADIZ in December 2022 after Washington authorised up to US$10 billion in weapons sales to Taiwan over five years. BLOOMBERG
