Taiwanese media outlets, including the China Times, reported on the 27th, citing sources, that whether the new F-16V fighters will be delivered to Taiwan by the end of this month is drawing attention as a primary litmus test to gauge the impact of the U.S.-China summit held at the White House on the 24th regarding U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

The source stated that Taiwan's Minister of National Defense, Wellington Koo (Ku Li-hsiung), had projected that the first of the 66 F-16V Block 70 fighters purchased by Taiwan would arrive in the country by the end of September, which marks the third quarter of this year.

The source explained that while Minister Koo disclosed this during parliamentary interpellations at the Legislative Yuan in March and June, the first two delivered F-16V units that arrived in Hawaii in August remain grounded without specific reasons being disclosed.

The China Times analyzed that whether the first batch of F-16V fighters arrives in Taiwan by the end of this month could serve as a touchstone for assessing the extent to which the recent summit has influenced U.S. military support for Taiwan and the implementation of existing arms sales.

It further projected that if the first F-16V delivery arrives in Taiwan by the end of this month as scheduled, it would symbolize that past negotiations and communications between Taiwan and the U.S. were not empty promises, whereas any changes to the delivery date would heighten concerns over the future delivery schedules of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, Harpoon missiles, and other military assets.

Lee Chi-tze, an international relations and diplomacy scholar at National Changhua University of Education, stated that the U.S. does not appear to have accommodated China's demand to adopt a stance opposing Taiwan independence during the U.S.-China summit.

However, he pointed out that if the approval schedule for approximately $14 billion (approx. 19 trillion won) in arms sales to Taiwan, including PAC-3 Patriot interceptor missiles, is adjusted to align with the flow of U.S.-China negotiations, there are concerns that Taiwan's security costs could increase.

Previously in 2019, the U.S. approved the sale of 66 F-16V jets to Taiwan by Lockheed Martin, valued at $8 billion (approx. 10.8 trillion won).

The F-16V set to be introduced by Taiwan is the latest version of the F-16, equipped with advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and Link-16 tactical data links, allowing it to track more than 20 targets simultaneously.

It can be equipped with various advanced air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-ship weapons.

Taiwan anticipates that once all 66 F-16V fighters are delivered, its F-16 fleet will increase to over 200 aircraft, enabling it to effectively respond to Chinese military planes frequently entering Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) or crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait.

(Photo: Yonhap News)