http://cnsnews.com/news/article/obama-administration-defends-republicans-sla m-taiwan-fighter-jet-decision
Obama Administration Defends, Republicans Slam Taiwan Fighter-Jet Decision By Patrick Goodenough <http://cnsnews.com/source/patrick-goodenough> September 22, 2011 http://w.sharethis.com/images/check-small.png <http://cnsnews.com/image/f-16-0> F-16 Lockheed Martin calls its F-16 Fighting Falcon "the world's most capable multirole fighter." (Image: Lockheed Martin) (CNSNews.com) - Republican critics accuse the Obama administration of bowing to Chinese pressure with its decision to upgrade aging Taiwanese warplanes rather than sell the island the later generation fighters it has requested. The administration notified Congress Wednesday of its intention to help Taiwan retrofit its fleet of 145 F-16 Fighting Falcon A (single seater) and B (two-seater) fighters bought 19 years ago, as part of a $5.85 billion arms package that includes equipment, parts, logistical support and a pilot training program. Taiwan's government thanked the U.S. but said it would continue pressing for its priority request, first made in 2006, to buy 66 F-16 C/D jets, to help defend itself against potential aggression from China, which views Taiwan as a rebellious province whose "reunification" with the mainland is inevitable. "The upgrade of F-16 A/Bs will help enhance our defense capability," Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy Yang said during a late night press conference. "We will continue to push for U.S. sale of F-16 C/Ds." <http://cnsnews.com/image/f-16-2> F-16 Lockheed Martin calls its F-16 Fighting Falcon "the world's most capable multirole fighter." (Image: Lockheed Martin) Separately, Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu pledged to continue urging the U.S. to provide new fighters, noting that the administration had not ruled out selling F-16 C/Ds in the future. Taiwan also has F-5s that are more than 30 years old. Earlier this week, Taiwan's deputy defense minister, Andrew Yang, was quoted as suggesting to an annual U.S.-Taiwan defense industry conference in Virginia that Chinese pressure was behind the holdup. "These years, China is showing stronger and stronger reaction to U.S.-Taiwan arms sales, and that [has] turned your country more wary with arms sales," he said. The U.S.-Taiwan Business Council says the sale of the 66 F-16 C/Ds Taiwan has requested "would help secure over 23,000 American jobs." Critics of the administration's decision not to sell Taiwan the fighters accused it of succumbing to Beijing. "President Obama's refusal to sell Taiwan new military jets is yet another example of his weak leadership in foreign policy," said GOP presidential aspirant Mitt Romney. "President Obama has ignored Taiwan's request and caved into the unreasonable demands of China at the cost of well-paying American jobs," he added. "This deal has Beijing's fingerprints all over it," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "The upgrade of older model F-16s is a modest step in the right direction but woefully insufficient to meet Taiwan's increasingly urgent requirements for modern combat fighters and other defensive weapons systems," she said. Ros-Lehtinen said the decision to exclude F-16 C/Ds from the arms package called into question its "commitment to longstanding policy to ensure that Taiwan is able to defend itself from mainland China, as legislatively mandated in the Taiwan Relations Act." The 1979 Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) commits the U.S. to provide Taiwan with the help it needs to defend itself against unprovoked aggression. Also expressing disappointment was the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, a Washington-based Taiwanese-American lobby, whose president Bob Yang said it was "regrettable that the Obama administration is letting the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] set the terms for U.S. relations with a democratic Taiwan." "This decision simply means that if push comes to shove in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. will have to bear a much heavier burden in keeping China at bay, as Taiwan will simply not have adequate means to defend itself," Yang said. "It is well known that China has been engaging in a major military buildup, while aging F-5 aircraft in Taiwan's air force are falling out of the sky. Such an imbalance invites aggression." In its 2010 annual report on Chinese military power, published last month, the Pentagon said China has a total of 1,680 fighter aircraft, 330 of which are based within range of Taiwan; Taiwan has 388 fighters. "The majority of [Chinese Air Force and Navy] aircraft are based in the eastern half of the country," the report stated. "Currently, 490 aircraft [fighters, bombers and others] could conduct combat operations against Taiwan without refueling. However, this number could be significantly increased through any combination of aircraft forward deployment, decreased ordnance loads, or altered mission profiles." 'Reverse the pattern of neglect and inattention' Administration officials speaking on background on Wednesday said the upgrade of Taiwan's existing F-16s would essentially give them the same capabilities as the later model variants Taiwan wants - more quickly and at a lower cost. At the same time they pointed out that they were not saying that "this is as good as the F-16 C/Ds." The officials said that, with this deal included, the U.S. will have sold more arms to Taiwan on Obama's watch than during the previous four years, adding that Taiwan's request for the F-16 C/Ds was "still under consideration." The officials also confirmed that the Chinese ambassador had earlier Wednesday protested the arms package "and indicated that there would be consequences for the relationship, but did not specify them." Previous Chinese reactions to Taiwan arms sales have included a freeze on military-to-military ties. A week ago, Ros-Lehtinen introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at enhancing the TRA, including a requirement to provide Taipei with "the next generation of F-16 fighters to defend the skies over the Taiwan Strait." The Taiwan Policy Act of 2011 also supports official visits to the U.S. by senior Taiwanese politicians, inclusion of Taiwan in a visa-waiver program, and negotiations towards an eventual free-trade agreement. An important symbolic provision would permit Taiwan to fly its national flag over its office in Washington DC, and would allow Taiwan's government, if it wished, to change the name of that office from the current Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office to Taiwan Representative Office. (The Obama administration in July 2010 allowed the Palestine Liberation Organization to begin flying the Palestinian flag at the office it has maintained in Washington since 1994, and to change its name to PLO Delegation to the United States.) "Taiwan is one of our closest and most important allies, and it is time again for our foreign policy to reflect that," Ros-Lehtinen said when introducing the bill. "This legislation seeks to reverse the pattern of neglect and inattention by the Obama administration toward critical U.S.-Taiwan issues. China must not be allowed to dictate U.S. policy in the Pacific." More congressional pressure on the administration comes in the form of a Senate bill, the Taiwan Airpower Modernization Act, which would require the U.S. to sell Taiwan the fighters it wants. The U..S-Taiwan Business Council is urging Congress to pass the legislation, which was introduced last week by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), with bipartisan co-sponsorship. "This Act and this sale is a win-win for the national security interests of both the United States and Taiwan, as the new fighters would address part of the airpower imbalance by modernizing Taiwan's fighter fleet," said council president Rupert Hammond-Chambers in a statement. "The sale also plays a vital role for the United States, in expanding forward-deployed capacity building with a key Asia Pacific security partner." Accusing the administration of treating Taiwan in a "deplorable" manner, Cornyn has also threatened to introduce an amendment to a trade bill now under Senate consideration - which Obama supports - that would mandate the F-16 C/D sale. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, discuss-os...@yahoogroups.com. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor biso...@intellnet.org http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: osint-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: osint-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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