Taiwan insists F-16 fighter jet sale still in works

“The sale had not been shelved,” a spokesman with Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs ministry said Saturday in a message carried by state-owned media.

Taiwan wants new F-16 fighter jets and U.S.-made tanks to help deter any potential invasion from China, which regards the island as a breakaway province. Officials in Taipei, the last bastion of the Chinese government overthrown in the 1949 Communist Revolution, reacted quickly to a report suggesting that Trump’s team has put a hold on the arms deals in the midst of a trade war with China.

“The U.S. sale of F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan has not been put on hold,” the state-run outlet maintained, citing the Foreign Ministry.

But earlier this week it appeared the deal was off. “That decision has contributed to concern among some in the Administration that the President may soon go soft on China in his desire to secure a trade deal,” according to Time, which reported the decision. “The move underscores the complexity and difficulty of balancing U.S. relations with an increasingly powerful China against the American commitment to help Taiwan defend itself.”

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen aired an appeal for the new weapons last week during a live video conference hosted by the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

“Taiwan continues to face monumental challenges from across the Taiwan strait,” Tsai said. ”China’s actions have underscored the need for Taiwan to increase our self-defense and deterrence capabilities.”

Chinese fighter jets subsequently crossed the unofficial boundary line dividing control of the Taiwan Strait, after a diplomat in Beijing demanded that Trump deny the request.

“I will reiterate our consistent, unequivocal and firm opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. “China has lodged stern representations to the U.S. on this issue.”