DTN News - TAIWAN DEFENSE NEWS: US Raises Hope Of Sale Of New F-16 Fighter Jets To Taiwan

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - TAIWAN DEFENSE NEWS: US Raises Hope Of Sale Of New F-16 Fighter Jets To Taiwan
*Taiwan Weighed for U.S. Jet Sale at Risk of Riling China
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Bloomberg Businessweek
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 28, 2012: The Obama administration will give “serious consideration” to selling Taiwan new Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) (LMT) F-16 fighter jets, a White House official said, creating a potential new flashpoint with China ahead of next week’s high- level meetings between U.S. and Chinese officials.

A jet sale “warrants serious consideration given the growing military threat to Taiwan,” Robert Nabors, the White House’s director of legislative affairs, said in a letter yesterday to Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican.

The comments risk spawning a political clash with China as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner prepare to meet their Chinese counterparts in Beijing next week for annual talks. China, which insists that Taiwan be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary, has cut military contacts with the U.S. in the past over American arms sales to the island.

“This is going to cause huge problems for the Chinese,” Bonnie Glaser, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said in an interview. The tension may be compounded if a human-rights group’s speculation bears out that an activist who escaped house arrest in eastern China this week is holed up at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, she said.

New F-16 C/D fighters would replace aging F-5 jets and supplement a refurbishment program for Taiwan’s F-16 A/Bs that President Barack Obama’s administration announced in September.

Lockheed in Texas
Lockheed has said a Taiwanese purchase of new F-16s would help keep open its production line in Fort Worth, Texas, in Cornyn’s state.

“A contract for new F-16s to Taiwan, depending on timing and quantity, could significantly extend the F-16 production line,” Laura Siebert, a spokeswoman for Bethesda, Maryland- based Lockheed, said in an e-mail yesterday.

Lockheed fell 40 cents to $91.30 at the close in New York trading yesterday and has risen 13 percent this year.

“The Chinese position of opposing U.S. arms sales to Taiwan has been consistent, clear and firm,” Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in an e- mail yesterday.

Taiwan has pressed the U.S. for years to allow the purchase of new F-16s, saying it is falling dangerously behind in its ability to counter potential threats from China. The mainland has an arsenal that includes missiles stationed across the Taiwan Strait.

‘Near-Term’ Decision
The Obama administration plans to decide on a “near-term course of action on how to address Taiwan’s fighter gap, including through the sale to Taiwan of an undetermined number of new U.S.-made fighter aircraft,” Nabors wrote.

The U.S.-Taiwan Business Council, a trade-promotion group that has lobbied for the F-16 sales for years, read that as a pledge to provide the planes.

“They are committing to new aircraft as part of their strategy to assist Taiwan in maintaining a credible defense,” Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the council’s president, said in an e- mail. “We had to date not been successful in getting the administration to admit” that the difference in the number of fighter jets on each side of the Strait is significant, he said.

A spokesman for Taiwan’s representative office in Washington said he didn’t know whether his country had been notified of a potential sale.

“We always appreciate U.S. concern and appreciation of Taiwan’s defense needs,” the spokesman, Frank Wang, said in an interview.

Upgrades Instead
The U.S. parried Taiwan’s request for new fighters in September, agreeing only to a $5.3 billion package to upgrade Taiwan’s older F-16s with new radar, smart bombs and laser- guided equipment. It was the first time in several such announcements that China didn’t suspend military talks.

Chinese officials considered their response last year restrained, Glaser said.

“They believed when we made the decision on the upgrades that that was a done deal and that we were not going to consider going forward with sales of new fighters,” she said. “This will, I think, come to them as a major shock.”

Yesterday’s letter from Nabors differs from a Feb. 15 letter to Cornyn from Acting Undersecretary of Defense James Miller in response to the lawmaker’s demand that the administration acknowledge Taiwan’s defense needs, including F-16s. That came after Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta presented a new defense strategy in January that shifted more attention to the Asia-Pacific region.

‘Cannot Match’
Miller cited announcements of more than $12 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in the previous two years and the conclusions of an earlier report to Congress that Taiwan “cannot match the Mainland one-for-one.”

“We believe the F-16 A/B upgrade effectively meets Taiwan’s current needs,” Miller wrote, while saying the Pentagon would “continue to consider Taiwan’s requests.”

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said U.S. policy hasn’t changed, and he offered a more non-committal variation on Nabors’ comment about a “near-term course of action.” Vietor said the administration would work with Taiwan “on its development of a comprehensive defense strategy and a resourcing plan.”

“We take very seriously our commitment to Taiwan’s defense as outlined in the Taiwan Relations Act,” Vietor said yesterday in an e-mail. “We do not comment on future possible foreign military sales unless formal congressional notification has taken place.”

Cornyn’s Leverage
Cornyn released Nabors’ letter yesterday after lifting a hold the senator had placed on the administration’s nomination of Obama aide Mark Lippert for assistant secretary of defense for Asia, using the nomination as leverage to press for fighter jet sales to Taiwan. Nabors didn’t specify whether, when or how many fighters the administration would consider.

“We are mindful of and share your concerns about Taiwan’s growing shortfall in fighter aircraft,” Nabors wrote to Cornyn. “We recognize that China has 2,300 operational combat aircraft, while our democratic partner Taiwan has only 490.”

The Obama administration has sought to improve military relations with China while calling repeatedly for the Chinese leadership to be more open about technology it’s developing that could threaten U.S. access in the Asia-Pacific region.

China said in March that it plans to increase defense spending 11.2 percent this year. The country’s defense spending is the second highest in the world after the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Walcott at jwalcott9@bloomberg.net 


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DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Coming War With China

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: The Coming War With China
*A source close to Chinese military affairs said that China has been promoting the construction of a 93,000-ton atomic-powered carrier under a plan titled the “085 Project.” The nation also has a plan to build a 48,000-ton non-nuclear-powered carrier under the so-called “089 Project,” added the source. China had so far been known to be pushing ahead with construction of a non-nuclear-powered carrier, but not an atomic-powered one.
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Mark Thompson | Time
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: Is China a peaceful nation that only wants to turn out Apple iPads and iPhones? Or is the Middle Kingdom bent on attacking the U.S.? Beijing is the long, and strong, pole in the tent for the U.S. military – and they know it. China is the new Soviet Union, and perhaps it should be.

But is there a downside to view Beijing through such a lens? (Congress has created the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission to track China’s growing clout [remember when the CIA was our chief threat exaggerator?] It also compels the Pentagon to report annually on Chinese military threats [remember when, for good or for ill, we counted on the Defense Intelligence Agency to keep track of such things?])

Do such assessments only create a self-fulfilling prophecy (self-fulfilling prophecy: something that allows the self-licking ice-cream cone, with apologizes to John Cameron Swayze, to keep on licking)? Perhaps not. After all, former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger’s multi-colored annual editions of Soviet Military Power — which portrayed the Soviet Union as a military superpower during the 1980s as the Pentagon, DIA and CIA missed its internal rot — hardly strengthened the Red Army.

Two contrary views:

In the Chinese government’s China Daily newspaper, Luo Yuan, the executive director and deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Military Science, writes:

Every cent that is spent on the Chinese military is to safeguard its citizens and its territory and help maintain peace. Last year, China spent $75 to protect each of its citizens, and $9.72 to protect each square kilometer of its land. The US on the other hand spent $2,201 to protect each of its citizens and $75.3 to protect each square kilometer of its territory. It is not difficult to see which country is the real threat.

Some have alleged that China’s military budget has outgrown its demand for self-defense, but it should be pointed out that China has never staged any military exercises off the coast of another country or carried out any close reconnaissance of another country. And it is worth remembering that China has never seized a single inch of another country or region’s territory. On the contrary, others are occupying its reefs and isles and plundering its resources. China is justified in spending money on its military to keep its territory intact.

Commentary magazine’s April cover story on the other hand, is all about the coming war with China. Long-time China-watcher Bill Gertz writes:

…the U.S. military [in November took] off the gloves as part of a major war-fighting initiative to counter new Chinese weapons that might succeed in enabling its weaker forces to defeat the United States in a regional war.

The Pentagon will press the defense industry for new ideas, as one defense official put it, “about how to go into China.” Public discussion of [the new Pentagon strategy known as] Air-Sea Battle has been focused largely on operations outside China, such as anti-submarine warfare, mines and countermine warfare, and defending carriers 1,000 miles from Chinese territory. Internal military operations against China under Air Sea Battle will include special forces commando raids on missile forces and bases and, most controversial, covert action and aid to ethnic groups, such as the Uighurs in Xinjiang, anti-regime elements inside Tibet, and ethnic Inner Mongolians seeking to reunite with independent Mongolia.

It’s a safe bet that Luo Yuan’s argument is too benign (no mention of Taiwan or Tiananmen, for example). But it’s fair to suggest that Gertz’s is too menacing (no mention, for example, that nearly everything in every American Walmart is made in China).

We pay the U.S. military to survey the horizon for threats, and prepare to deal with them. China bears watching: its actions makes its neighbors uneasy, and the fate of Taiwan will have to be resolved one way or the other. But, interestingly, as each side focuses on wars that might come, they all seem to erupt in China’s backyard, not ours.

That’s probably a good thing, most Americans would say. But it sure doesn’t look that way to the Chinese.

A source close to Chinese military affairs said on March 27 that China has been promoting the construction of a 93,000-ton atomic-powered carrier under a plan titled the “085 Project.” The nation also has a plan to build a 48,000-ton non-nuclear-powered carrier under the so-called “089 Project,” added the source. China had so far been known to be pushing ahead with construction of a non-nuclear-powered carrier, but not an atomic-powered one.

Once the proposed Chinese carriers are deployed, the radius of the Chinese Navy's range is expected to reach Guam, where a U.S. base is located. Thus, military experts are worried about China's moves prompting an arms race in Northeast Asia.

The dossier said the construction of the nuclear-powered carrier will be completed in 2020. China State Shipbuiling Corp's Jiangnan shipyard located on Changxing Island near Shanghai, will be responsible for its design and construction. The size is similar to former Soviet's unfinished atomic-powered carrier Ulyanovsk, the dossier states. China reportedly secretly purchased the design of Ulyanovsk from Russia. When the nuclear-powered carrier is finished, China will own an aircraft carrier which is on par with the U.S's newest of such vessels, the 97,000-ton atomic-powered USS Ronald Reagan, which recently docked at Busan Port to participate in a joint exercise between the South Korean and U.S. militaries.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Mark Thompson | Time
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DTN News - CHINA HIKES DEFENCE BUDGET: China Engaging In Military Buildup While US Cuts Forces

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - CHINA HIKES DEFENCE BUDGET: China Engaging In Military Buildup While US Cuts Forces
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources by Matt Lacy - Greeley Gazette
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 18, 2012: An expert on Communist China says the United States could be making a grave mistake by cutting back on defense spending while China is doing just the opposite.

Beijing recently announced a new defense budget of approximately $106 billion, which equates to an 11.2-percent increase. Cheng says this increase coupled with last years 12.7 percent increase means that China is now spending more on its military than all other Asian nations combined. The new budget comes at a time when the Obama administration, despite calling for a higher priority in Asia, is busily reducing the U.S. defense outlay.

While many critics of defense spending in the United States say that it is larger than the majority of the world, Dean Cheng, a research fellow at the Asian studies Center with The Heritage Foundation  says there are key differences between the two militaries.

“the U.S. is a key enforcer of international norms and safety. It is the American Navy, more than any other, that keeps the world’s sea lanes safe. It is the U.S. Air Force that provides space situational awareness, including conjunction warnings, to all other space-faring nations (including China) and manages the GPS constellation to global benefit—both without charge.”

He goes on to note that by contrast China's military budget is spent almost entirely on Chinese interests. While he acknowledges that with China having the second largest economy in the world it is expected that have a substantial military, and that while the Chinese defense spending increases by themselves should not draw alarm, there are other reasons for concern.

Cheng says there are two aspects of Chinese defense priorities that could spell problems for the United States.

The first thing he says is that the Chinese are focused on countering the US military. "So they buy things like anti-ship ballistic missiles -- which really are of use only against things like American aircraft carriers, but not against, say, Somali pirates," he offers.

Cheng says another advantage the Chinese military has is that it is still more of a local military operating near China rather than maintaining a global presence like the US. This means China can put all of its resources up against only a portion of the US military.

He goes on to note the Chinese Communist Party appears to be taking a more aggressive stance not only against US interests but against its neighbors Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. The government has been making claims of sovereignty over the South and East China seas and expanding its forces opposite Taiwan.

China is not the only military United States should be concerned about. While our military is facing the possibility of close to $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years and a reduction of up to one third of our military force, Russia is also engaging on a military buildup.

A 10 year, $640 billion military modernization underway in Russia will include 600 new aircraft, 1000 new choppers and an additional hundred ships added to the Russian Navy including 20 submarines.

By contrast, the Pentagon has said it may be forced to engage in involuntary separations to meet troop reduction goals of 67,100 soldiers form active and reserve Army units, 15,20 from the Marine Corps, 8,600 from the Navy and 1,700 from the Air Force as part of $487 in budget cuts. If Congress is unable to reach targeted spending cuts that were a part of the congressional deal reached during last years debt ceiling debate another $500 billion could be cut from the military budget.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources by Matt Lacy - Greeley Gazette
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DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: China Military Has Taiwan In Its Sights

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - CHINA DEFENSE NEWS: China Military Has Taiwan In Its Sights

**PENTAGON REPORT: Taiwan is the focus of China’s military, which is on track to become fully modernized by 2020 — much earlier than the US’ best estimate

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By William Lowther / Staff Reporter in Washington - Taipei Times

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 29, 2011: A major new Pentagon report on the Chinese military says China is on track to build a modern military by 2020 and that despite improvements in relations across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan remains the principal focus of the Chinese military.

Fueled by its booming economy, China’s military growth in the past decade has exceeded most US forecasts.

Its aircraft carrier program, cyber warfare capabilities and anti-satellite missiles have alarmed neighbors and Washington, the long-delayed comprehensive 84-page report says.

While the report contains nothing that is startlingly new, it is dominated by references to Taiwan. And it comes just weeks before the administration of US President Barack Obama has promised to provide an answer to Taipei’s request to buy 66 advanced F-16C/D aircraft.

This potential arms sale is not mentioned, but without actually spelling it out the study makes it abundantly clear that Taiwan is in desperate need of new weapons.

Titled Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2011, the annual report to Congress from the US Department of Defense makes chilling reading.

The Obama administration continues to deny that a decision has yet been made on whether or not to sell the F-16s, but unofficial sources in both Taipei and Washington are signaling that Obama will bow to Chinese pressure and not allow the sale. Instead, he seems likely to offer to modernize Taiwan’s dated F-16A/B aircraft — a move that is less objectionable to Beijing.

China’s rise as a major international actor will stand out as a defining feature of the strategic landscape of the early 21st century, the report says.

And China’s modernized military could be used in ways that increase Beijing’s ability to gain diplomatic advantage or resolve disputes in its favor, the report says.

Nowhere is that more the case, the report makes obvious, than in Beijing’s dealings with Taiwan.

“The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] seeks the capability to deter Taiwan independence and influence Taiwan to settle the dispute on Beijing’s terms,” it says.

“In pursuit of this objective, Beijing is developing capabilities intended to deter, delay, or deny possible US support for the island in the event of conflict,” it says.

“The balance of cross-Strait military forces and capabilities continues to shift in the mainland’s [China’s] favor,” it says.

Despite the warming cross-strait ties under President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the report says, China has continued to build its forces in a way that threatens Taiwan.

“In the current decade to 2020, the PLA is likely to steadily expand its military options for Taiwan,” it says.

“Consistent with a near-term focus on preparing for Taiwan Strait contingencies, China continues to base many of its most advanced systems in the military regions opposite Taiwan,” it says.

On top of the huge numbers of ballistic and cruise missiles aimed at Taiwan, the report says China bases 490 combat aircraft within operational range of Taiwan and has the airfield capacity to expand that number by hundreds, as well as about 400,000 of its 1.25 million soldiers based in three military regions opposite Taiwan.

“The possibility of a military conflict with Taiwan, including US military intervention, remains a pressing, long-term focus for the PLA,” the report says.

“In the absence of a peaceful cross-Strait resolution or long-term non-aggression pact, the Taiwan mission will likely continue to dominate PLA modernization and operational planning,” it says.

Although the Chinese military probably lacks the necessary military power to successfully conduct a full-scale amphibious invasion of Taiwan, the report says, it is working to close the gaps in its capabilities.

“Furthermore, Taiwan’s relatively modest defense spending has failed to keep pace with ambitious military developments on the mainland,” it says.

The report says Beijing seeks to deter Taiwanese moves toward independence and seeks to achieve unification with a carrot and stick approach.

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] strives to integrate the two economies while advancing cultural and historic ties. Politically, China has sought to expand ties with the [Chinese Nationalist Party] KMT Party on Taiwan while attempting to isolate political entities with more overtly pro-independence leanings,” it says.

“The PRC employs economic enticement, propaganda, and political engagement in pursuit of these objectives,” it says.

According to the report, the military component of China’s strategy is intended to create an impression on Taiwan that accommodation with Beijing is ultimately in Taiwan’s best interest.

“Beijing appears prepared to defer the use of force as long as it believes long-term reunification [sic] remains possible and the costs of conflict outweigh the benefits,” it says.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Michael Schiffer told a Pentagon press briefing on the report that the pace and scope of China’s sustained military investments had allowed Beijing to pursue capabilities that “we believe are potentially destabilizing to regional military balances, increase the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and may contribute to regional tensions and anxieties.”

He said the report pointed to cross-strait trends that created a very challenging military and security environment.

The US was committed to working with Taiwan, to meet its -commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) and to ensure that Taipei had the self-defense capabilities that it needed, Schiffer said.

Asked directly about the possible sale of F-16C/Ds, Schiffer said: “There have been no decisions that have been made on arms sales to Taiwan.”

“This is an issue that we continue to work with on a daily basis and consistent with our obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act, the United States will provide to Taiwan the self-defense capabilities that it requires,” he said.

“It’s a challenging security environment across a number of different dimensions,” he said when pressed on the possible sale.

There was no “silver bullet that will all of a sudden change everything,” he said.

In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense again urged the US government to speed up the sale of defensive weapons to Taiwan.

Ministry spokesman David Lo (羅紹和) said the report again highlighted the cross-strait military imbalance.

Based on this reasoning, Ma has repeatedly called on the US to supply defensive arms to Taiwan in accordance with the TRA, Lo said.

He said the ministry has continued in its efforts to persuade Washington to provide F-16C/D aircraft, F-16A/B upgrades and diesel-electric submarines.

The Chinese government has yet to give its official response to the report, but Xinhua news agency fired the first shot in an English-language commentary yesterday, condemning the report as an alarmist “cock-and-bull story” that was “based on a wild guess and illogical reasoning.”

“China, which has adhered to a defensive military policy, with its rising economic clout and sprawling commercial and strategic interests around the world, has every right to build a competent military,” it said.

Xinhua called the Pentagon’s conclusions “much ado about nothing,” and said Chinese people thought it “baffling” that the US could criticize China when its own military spending was 40 percent of the world’s total last year.

Additional reporting by Reuters and CNA

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DTN News - TAIWAN DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. To Deny Taiwan New F-16 Fighters

Defense War News Updates: DTN News - TAIWAN DEFENSE NEWS: U.S. To Deny Taiwan New F-16 Fighters

**Offers AESA Radar in Upgrade for Older Jets

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Wendell Minnick - Defense News

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada / TAIPEI, Taiwan - August 14, 2011: 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 U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) 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.

The proposed upgrade package would make the 146 Taiwanese F-16A/Bs among the most capable variants of the aircraft, perhaps second only to the APG-80 AESA-equipped F-16E/Fs flown by the United Arab Emirates.

Originally requested by Taipei in 2009, the package would cost $4.2 billion, sources at TADTE said.

The new gear would include an AESA radar, likely either Northrop Grumman's Scalable Agile Beam Radar or the Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar, to replace the planes' current APG-66(V)3 radar.

Either one would be an improvement on the Northrop APG-68(V)9 mechanical radar once contemplated for Taiwan's upgrade package. The switch is meant to soften the blow of denying new planes to Taipei, a Lockheed Martin source said.

A decision between the two AESA candidates could foreshadow the U.S. Air Force's own choice as it prepares to upgrade its fleet of F-16s. The upgrade package will also improve the planes' Raytheon ALQ-184(V)7 electronic countermeasures pod by adding the capacity to intercept and save hostile radar transmissions, then use the same frequency to jam them.

However, ITT is offering the ALQ-211 Advanced Integrated Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite pod as an alternative.

ITT is also offering the BRU-57/A Smart Twin Store Carrier, which doubles the number of bombs an F-16 can carry, an ITT source said.

The package would also replace the AIM-9P/M Sidewinder air-to-air missile with the new AIM-9X; fit the planes to carry enhanced GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs; and add a digital radar warning receiver, helmet-mounted cueing system and center pedestal display.

The package will not include new engines to better handle the additional weight and electrical draw, though there could be an upgrade to bring the existing Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 to the PW-220E standard. The upgrade would swap out obsolete parts for newer ones, but wouldn't offer any additional performance.

Lockheed Martin will be working with Taiwan's state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC) to integrate the new gear on the jets.

"Changing a fighter's major sensor should not be taken lightly. It is more than electrical capacity. It is the integration of sensors, weapons, displays, etc., that make a fighter aircraft effective," Lockheed spokeswoman Laura Siebert said.

CONSEQUENCES

Siebert said the failure to release F-16C/Ds will weaken Lockheed Martin's plans to extend the production line for the fighter.

"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."

The denial of the new jets will likely lead AIDC officials to ask the government to expand upgrade plans for Taiwan's 126 Indigenous Defense Fighters, of which 71 are currently slated for upgrades.

The company has also been pushing Taiwan's Air Force to allocate funds for full-rate production of the IDF C/D Goshawk, which features improved range and weapons payload.

BACKGROUND

In July, the U.S. State Department indicated a final decision on the F-16 issue would be made by Oct. 1. Since 2006, the U.S. has repeatedly denied Taiwan's request for 66 F-16C/D Block 50/52s, a prospective sale estimated at more than $8 billion.

The planes would replace 60 F-5 Tigers and 60 Mirage 2000-5s due for retirement within five to 10 years.

China has called the sale a "red line." A recent editorial in the state-controlled People's Daily called for the use of a "financial weapon" against the U.S. if new F-16s were released.

The U.S. decision comes as a blow to the self-ruled island's effort to counter China's growing military, whose first aircraft carrier began sea trials last week, and therefore to its independence.

There are fears that losing Taiwan could spell the end of U.S. power projection in the region. Losing Taiwan would "change everything from the operational arch perspective to the posture of Japan and the U.S." in the region, said Raytheon's Asia president, Walter Doran, a retired admiral who once commanded the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Staff writer Dave Majumdar in Washington contributed to this report.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Wendell Minnick - Defense News

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