Although Japan has delayed naming the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as its next-generation addition to the country’s Air Self-Defense Force until next week, the decision is considered a lock by industry analysts and an encouraging sign that Taiwan may be included in a grouping of Asian states boasting the most advanced airpower assets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Paperwork problems involved with specifying procurement costs for the first four aircraft in the 2012 draft budget are believed to be the reason why the F-35 was not announced Dec. 16 by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda at the Security Council of Japan. The sky-high price tag of 13.7 billion yen (US$175.9 million) apiece has forced officials from Japan’s Ministry of Defense to burn the midnight oil as they struggle to get their numbers airworthy in time for approval before year-end.
Japan has been looking to pick a replacement for its aging squadrons of Vietnam-era F-4 fighters for some time. The decision to settle on the F-35 instead of two other tried and true candidates, the F-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter, caught many by surprise given the jet’s higher cost.
But when it comes to seeing off increasingly virulent challenges from the Russian and mainland Chinese air forces, both recently unveiling rival stealth prototype fighters, no price is too high to pay. Equipped with the latest stealth technology providing radar-evading capability in front and behind the aircraft, the F-35 can fly rings around the competition—a must if Japan is to help pull its weight in helping the U.S. control the Pacific air domain.
Japan’s choice of the F-35 indicates that the U.S. is looking to outfit its Asian allies with the best possible weapons as a way of keeping those powers with regional ambitions in check. Australia has signed on for 100 of the jets, Canada an additional 65, and Singapore is a Security Cooperative Participant in the F-35 program with South Korea a probable customer. India is also said to be eyeing a purchase sooner rather than later.
For Taiwan, a move toward acquiring the F-35 makes sense given the recent U.S. decision to decline a request for 66 F-16 C/D fighters and instead approve a mid-life upgrade package for the country’s 146 F-16 A/Bs. While this approach has not been publicly stated by the ROC government, it was alluded to by Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew N.D. Yang Sept. 18 on the sidelines of the U.S.-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Richmond, Virginia.
Yang, one of three keynote speakers at the conference addressing the future of U.S. defense cooperation with Taiwan, the defense procurement process and Taiwan's defense and national security needs, said the decision by Washington not to sell Taipei the F-16 C/D represents an opportunity for discussions on procuring the F-35.
Since 2001, Taiwan has been entertaining the notion of adding the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing fighter to its arsenal as a way of overcoming the possible destruction of the island’s runways by mainland China’s 1,300-plus short-range ballistic missiles.
A letter of intent was submitted for 120 F-35B STOVL aircraft in May 2002 on the basis that the growing air and missile capabilities possessed by Beijing threaten Taipei’s ability to control the skies over the Taiwan Strait. This document was followed up in 2004 by a revised request for 60 F-35B STOVL and 150 F-35A conventional take-off and landing aircraft.
The Harrier jump jet was another option linked with Taiwan, with talk that the country may have been looking to bid for 72 aircraft scrapped last year by the U.K. as part of defense austerity measures. Instead, the U.S. Marine Corps snaffled the redundant Harriers for parts, paying 110 million pounds (US$170.8 million) in what analysts described as a good deal for both sides.
But even if the U.S. was to greenlight a Taiwan purchase of the F-35, the pressing question of how to keep the ROC air force at peak strength until the new fighters came on line remains to be addressed. The F-16 C/D remains the best bet, with the vote last month by the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs to provide Taiwan with a multirole aircraft for strengthening its capability against the increasing military threat from mainland China a step in the right direction.
There is no denying that Taiwan’s air fleet is beginning to show its age. The F-5 jets are at the end of their operational life; the Indigenous Defense Fighter lacks the capability for sustained sorties; the Mirage 2000-5 is increasingly grounded due to expensive and frequent maintenance requirements; and the F-16 A/B will soon be temporarily out of service for upgrades.
The F-16 C/D is a versatile platform that is still capable of playing a vital role in meeting Taiwan’s defense needs. If Washington approves the sale, then Taipei can continue staging a determined defense and effective deterrence strategy while maintaining the cross-strait status quo.
Under the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. is obligated to supply the ROC with all necessary weapons to organize a sufficient defense. There is no question that a request for F-35 and F-16 C/D fighters is within the letter of this law, making any sale consistent with the precepts of U.S. policy.
If the U.S. is serious about getting all hands on deck when it comes to bolstering security in the Asia-Pacific region, and preserving the stability that has allowed Asian nations to develop at a rapid pace, then Taiwan must be the next cab off the rank when it comes to acquiring the F-35. To leave the nation out of this security development would be a folly of the highest order.
Ed Zacapa is a freelance writer based in Kaohsiung. These views are the author’s and not necessarily those of Taiwan Today. Copyright © 2011 by Ed Zacapa
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