Israel Matzav

Add Taiwan to the list

You can add Taiwan to the list of American allies who have been abandoned by the Obama administration (Hat Tip: Sunlight).

Bowing to Chinese pressure, the U.S. will deny Taiwan’s request for 66 new F-16C/D fighter aircraft, a Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (MND) official said.

“We are so disappointed in the United States,” he said.

A Department of Defense delegation arrived here last week to deliver the news and offer instead a retrofit package for older F-16A/Bs that includes an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

The visit coincided with the biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), held here Aug. 11-14.

“The U.S. Pentagon is here explaining what is in the upgrade package,” a U.S. defense industry source said at TADTE. “They are going to split the baby: no C/Ds, but the A/B upgrade is going forward.”

Sources said an official announcement of the decision is expected by month’s end.

But an official at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. Embassy, said “no decisions have been made,” while DoD officials declined to comment on their delegation’s mission.

Here's where this relates to Israel (aside from the fact that we have also been thrown under the bus by the Obama administration).

“While Congress has been notified of Oman and Iraq’s desire for F-16s, the Taiwan order for 66 aircraft is very important to the long-term viability of the F-16 production to include the U.S. Air Force, Lockheed Martin and the thousands of suppliers throughout the U.S.,” she said.

More than a few TADTE attendees said the Obama administration might reverse the decision as the 2012 presidential election approaches and political pressure for new jobs builds.

A June report by the Perryman Group, a Texas-based economic and financial analysis firm, estimated that Taiwan’s F-16C/D program would create more than 16,000 jobs and almost $768 million in U.S. federal tax revenue. Much of that tax revenue and new jobs would go to election battleground states: California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

But China holds about 8 percent of U.S. debt, the largest block in foreign hands.

As one TADTE attendee said, “Beijing’s Kung Fu is better than Washington’s.”

I wonder if the IAF would be interested in any of those F-16 C/D's. Of course, we already have the F-16 I and we have the F-35 (God knows when it will be ready) on order. But could we use those F-16 C/D's? I don't know enough to say.

Labels: China, F-16-C/D, F-16-I, F-35, IAF, Taiwan

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:54 PM