Taiwan's defense minister said on September 29 that the United States has signaled it is willing to compensate Taipei for the delayed delivery of the first of 66 new F-16V fighter jets, as the multiyear purchase continues to slip behind schedule.
Speaking to reporters at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's parliament, Defense Minister Koo Li-hsiung said production of the aircraft has reached a stage where the jets are ready to be handed over, and that the air force is following a timeline set by the U.S. program office overseeing the sale to prepare for their arrival. He said the ministry would announce a firm return date once one is confirmed.
Arms Sale Rules Bar Cash Penalties
Taiwan agreed to buy 66 new F-16V jets from the United States in a government-to-government deal that originally called for the first aircraft to arrive in 2024 and the full fleet to be delivered by the end of 2026. The COVID-19 pandemic, production-line bottlenecks, and technical modifications have since pushed complete delivery back to 2028, opening what officials describe as an unplanned gap in the island's air defenses.
Because foreign military sales are conducted government to government, the contract includes no default penalty clause, meaning Taiwan has no legal basis to demand a cash fine over the delay, according to a report by the Chinese-language China Times. Taipei has instead pressed Washington for non-cash concessions, such as a larger initial allotment of spare parts over the program's first two years or a longer warranty period, the paper reported, adding that Washington is negotiating those terms with the jets' American manufacturers.
Koo Says Jets Have Reached Deliverable Stage
Asked about the compensation talks, Koo confirmed they were underway but declined to detail specific terms. "There are no penalties built into arms sales, but on compensation measures, the American side has already shown goodwill. We will coordinate with the U.S. side, and there should be concrete compensation measures," he said, adding that details would be released once a plan was finalized.
Koo Says Trump Xi Summit Changed Nothing
Koo was also asked whether the recent summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had affected progress on a separate $14 billion package of American arms sales to Taiwan. He said Washington had repeatedly assured Taipei since the summit that U.S. policy toward Taiwan remains unchanged, and that talks on individual sales cases are continuing with no indication that any have been altered. He added that Taiwan would keep coordinating with Washington on whether an announcement on the package could come before the end of the year.
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