Chen Guanting: The arrival of new F-16V fighter jets in Taiwan has injected substantial combat power into Taiwan’s air defense, emphasizing that national defense independence is the key to national security

The first batch of new "F-16V" (F-16 Block 70) fighter jets purchased by my country from the United States will soon arrive in Taiwan. Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Guanting, who is also a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said today (2) that the arrival of the new fighters in Taiwan will inject direct and positive substantive combat power into Taiwan's air defense, and he highly praised it. He also emphasized that in the face of changes in the regional situation, only solid advancement of national defense independence and arms acquisition is the most powerful guarantee for ensuring national security.

Chen Guanting pointed out that Taiwan's air defense capabilities are entering a new stage. The National Army has upgraded 141 F-16A/Bs in active service through the "Fengzhan Project" and purchased 66 new F-16Vs under the "Fengxiang Project" for deployment in Taitung. He hopes that the Air Force can complete the replacement and combat readiness with the highest efficiency, and work with the existing fleet to establish deep air control and maintain a certain air superiority in the airspace around the Taiwan Strait.

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Chen Guanting further analyzed that in the just-concluded "Trump-Xi meeting", the US policy and arms sales support for Taiwan did not show any structural fluctuations. It is obvious that arms delivery and security cooperation have established institutional commitments and will not change due to a single heads of state summit. He also emphasized that maintaining normal dialogue between the United States and China will also help avoid strategic misjudgments, but the structural competition pattern between the two powers in the Indo-Pacific region has not changed.

In response to US officials' analysis, Beijing's chances of attacking Taiwan in 2027 have decreased, but if the Democratic Progressive Party continues to remain in power in 2028, the risk of using force will increase. Chen Guanting bluntly said that "speculations are just speculations after all, and national defense must be substantive." He emphasized that instead of speculating all day about what other countries or Beijing will do next, Taiwan should focus on what it can do. The only way to be prepared is to strengthen its own defense capabilities.

Chen Guanting also reminded that China's production and technological strength in the field of unmanned vehicles have ranked among the best in the world, and Taiwan must speed up the construction of asymmetric combat capabilities. This year's supplementary national defense budget is also expected to invest resources in supporting local enterprises and strengthening the decentralized unmanned vehicle industry chain of independent research and development and homemade production. He called on the opposition parties to go beyond the party and fully support the smooth passage of the supplementary budget, continue to invest in and implement independent production capabilities, and take the initiative in self-defense.