U.S. - Taiwan F-16 Sale Has Become "Hopeless"

Taiwanese Official: F-16 Buy From U.S. 'Hopeless' -- Defense News

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan's bid to buy F-16 fighter jets from the United States has become "hopeless," a top Taiwanese official was quoted as saying in an Aug. 20 report. This follows up a report by Defense News last week that Washington told Taiwan it will not sell the jets.

At that time, both U.S. and Taiwanese officials insisted no decision had been made.

The comments by parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng, who said the U.S. had changed its mind about selling the jets, mark the first time an official has stated publicly that the long-awaited deal is expected to fall through.


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My Comment: So much for the U.S. assisting Taiwan to maintain a semblance of a military balance between Taiwan and China. Everyone in the region is now questioning their relationship with the U.S. and its reliability as a defense partner .... and the Chinese .... they are now wondering if this is a green light from the U.S. to put even more pressure on Taiwan.