{"id":2034,"date":"2026-10-02T10:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2034"},"modified":"2026-10-02T10:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:03:44","slug":"taiwans-first-new-f-16v-fighter-jets-arrive-to-bolster-defences-against-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2034","title":{"rendered":"Taiwan’s first new F-16V fighter jets arrive to bolster defences against China"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The first two of a batch of 66 new \u200cF-16V Block 70 fighter jets ordered in 2019 arrived in Taiwan on Friday after months of delays, helping to strengthen an air force that has to scramble almost daily to shadow China\u2019s military.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Taiwan faces a rising military threat from Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as \u200bits own territory. Taipei has complained of repeated delays to weapons ordered from the United States, its most \u200bimportant international backer and arms supplier.<\/p>\n

The delivery, to Taitung\u2019s Chihhang Air Base on the island\u2019s mountainous \u2060east coast, comes amid growing concern<\/a> in Taiwan about the Trump administration\u2019s commitment to arming Taipei, despite Washington saying there \u200bhas been no change in policy.<\/p>\n

The aircraft, which flew via Hawaii and Guam, touched down at noon (0400 GMT).<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters at \u200bparliament in Taipei shortly before, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said there would be other new F-16Vs arriving soon, though he did not give details.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we won\u2019t only have delivered these two by year-end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab<\/a> \u200bF-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island\u2019s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets. But \u200bissues including software problems, have delayed delivery of the planes.<\/p>\n

The arrival of the first two aircraft came almost exactly a week after US \u200cPresident Donald \u2060Trump<\/a> met Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> in Washington.<\/p>\n

Trump said in May, after meeting Xi in Beijing, that he was holding a new $14 billion package for Taiwan in abeyance, though he did approve one worth $11 billion in December 2025.<\/p>\n

<\/a>China threat level<\/strong><\/h3>\n

US officials believe a Chinese invasion of Taiwan before 2028<\/a> is increasingly unlikely, people familiar with US thinking told Reuters. Taiwan holds its next presidential \u200belection in early 2028.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina\u2019s intention \u200bto annex Taiwan by force \u2060has never changed,\u201d Koo said.<\/p>\n

The F-16Vs have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better counter the Chinese air force, including its stealthy J-20 fighters, though Washington has been unwilling \u200bto provide Taiwan with its most advanced fighters like the F-22 or F-35.<\/p>\n

An upgrade programme for \u200bTaiwan\u2019s existing F-16s \u2060was completed in 2023.<\/p>\n

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but the two have no formal diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n

Beijing has repeatedly told Washington to stop arming Taiwan. The Chinese foreign ministry did not respond to \u2060a request \u200bfor comment on the arrival of the F-16s.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue standing with friends \u200band allies across the Indo-Pacific to advance our shared prosperity, security, and values \u2014 that includes Taiwan,\u201d a US State Department spokesperson said when asked about \u200bthe new F-16s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first two of a batch of 66 new \u200cF-16V Block 70 fighter jets ordered in 2019 arrived in Taiwan on Friday after months of delays, helping to strengthen an air force that has to scramble almost daily to shadow China\u2019s military. Taiwan faces a rising military threat from Beijing, which claims the democratically governed island as \u200bits own territory. Taipei has complained of repeated delays to weapons ordered from the United States, its most \u200bimportant international backer and arms supplier. The delivery, to Taitung\u2019s Chihhang Air Base on the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2034\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}