U.S refuses to sell more advanced fighter aircraft to Taiwan - Placating Beijing?
Posted by- Neelam Mathews Sept 20, 2011 Politics rears its ugly head as past friendships are being set aside for future gains.Heritage Foundation says U.S is influencing political outcome in a friendly democracy. The U.S Administration position on Taiwan F-16s has alienated all sides, says Heritage Foundation, a think tank, “with a mission to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise”. At the end of a series of closed-door briefings and meetings with the congressional committees of jurisdiction, the Obama Administration has finally stated its position on F-16 sales to Taiwan. The following is an excerpt by Dean Cheng, Research Fellow in Chinese Political and Security Affairs in the Asian Studies Center. “It turns out that the Administration is, in fact, going to follow the very game plan that rumors had indicated since late in the spring: Upgrade Taiwan’s F-16 A/Bs (now 20 years old) as part of a new a...