Leading lawmakers are commending the Trump administration for moving forward with a proposed sale of F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan after the administration informally notified Congress of the sale, to which China is staunchly opposed.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said the F-16s are “critical” for Taiwan’s defense.
“These fighters are critical to improving Taiwan’s ability to defend its sovereign airspace, which is under increasing pressure from the People’s Republic of China,” Risch said in a statement Friday. “I commend the Trump administration for making this decision to bolster Taiwan’s defensive capabilities, and note the strong bipartisan and bicameral support for this sale.”
In the House, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a joint statement that the sale will send a “strong message.”
“The sale of F-16s to Taiwan sends a strong message about the U.S. commitment to security and democracy in the Indo-Pacific,” they said. “As leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we are pleased the administration is moving forward with this sale and have every confidence that it will be supported on a bipartisan and bicameral basis.”
The Trump administration sent the committees an informal notification late Thursday that it had approved the sale, two congressional aides confirmed. Taiwan requested to buy 66 F-16s, a sale estimated to be worth $8 billion.
The full Congress still needs to receive a formal notification that the sale has been approved. Typically, that happens 30 days after an informal notification, but the timeline can be sped up.
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#BREAKING: Trump administration moves forward with F-16 fighter jets sale to Taiwan https://t.co/TE4Uo9mMvW pic.twitter.com/J3Lojd1ZQL
— The Hill (@thehill) August 16, 2019
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