Taiwan grounds F-16s after second fighter accident in less than a month

Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard, Reuters

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/afp/11/18/f-16-fighter.jpg"/><figcaption>This handout picture taken and released by Taiwan’s Military News Agency (MNA) on March 24, 2020 shows a US-made F-16 fighter taking off during a drill at the Hualien Air Force Base in eastern Taiwan. Military tensions have risen between Taiwan and China despite the global coronavirus pandemic after Beijing conducted a series of military drills near the island. <em>Handout / Taiwan’s Military News Agency (MNA) / AFP</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>TAIPEI - Taiwan&#x27;s air force has grounded its F-16 fleet after losing a plane on a training mission, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, the second loss of a fighter jet in less than a month at a time of increased missions to intercept Chinese aircraft.</p><p>While Taiwan&#x27;s air force is well trained and well equipped, mostly with U.S.-made equipment, it is dwarfed by China&#x27;s. Beijing claims the democratic island as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.</p><p>Last month, Taiwan&#x27;s defense minister said nearly $900 million had been spent this year on scrambling the air force against Chinese incursions, describing the pressure they are facing as &quot;great&quot;.</p><p>Late Tuesday, Taiwan&#x27;s air force said a U.S.-built F-16 vanished shortly after taking off from the Hualien air base on the east coast on a routine training mission.</p><p>That followed the crash of an F-5 - a jet which first entered service in Taiwan in the 1970s - in late October.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/04/20/taiwan-to-phase-out-ageing-f-5-fighter-jets-after-pilots-fatal-crash">Taiwan to phase out ageing F-5 fighter jets after pilot’s fatal crash</a></li></ul><p>Speaking to reporters, Tsai said the air force had already grounded the F-16 fleet for checks.</p><p>&quot;I have asked the defense ministry not to relax a bit on defense and combat readiness to ensure national security,&quot; she added.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VnSQa30cINI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The defense ministry called on media not to speculate on what happened to the F-16, adding that missions needed to continue considering the ongoing threat from China.</p><p>&quot;In response to the increasingly severe situation in the Taiwan Strait, the military has continued to strengthen combat readiness training to ensure national security,&quot; it said.</p><p>The loss of the F-16 is Taiwan&#x27;s fourth military crash this year. In January, Taiwan&#x27;s top military official was among eight people killed after a helicopter carrying them to visit soldiers crashed in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei.</p><p>The United States last year approved an $8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island&#x27;s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, the largest in Asia. <strong>(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; editing by Richard Pullin)</strong></p><div><br/><strong>FROM OUR ARCHIVES</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uka1HXm8VWQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>TAIPEI - Taiwan's air force has grounded its F-16 fleet after losing a plane on a training mission, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, the second loss of a fighter jet in less than a month at a time of increased missions to intercept Chinese aircraft.</p>

TAIPEI - Taiwan's air force has grounded its F-16 fleet after losing a plane on a training mission, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Wednesday, the second loss of a fighter jet in less than a month at a time of increased missions to intercept Chinese aircraft.

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Taiwan grounds F-16s after second fighter accident in less than a month

Taiwan grounds F-16s after second fighter accident in less than a month

Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard,

Reuters

Published Nov 18, 2020 01:19 PM PHT

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taiwan

china

beijing

F-16

Tsai Ing-wen

Hualien

F-5

Taiwan Strait

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