Taiwan presses House members on F-16 sales

Timothy Yang, Taiwan's Minister of Foreign Affairs, called on two members of Congress last week to continue pressing for the sale of F-16 fighter planes to Taiwan.

Yang met with Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), who co-chairs the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and David Rivera (R-Fla.) late last week, according to Focus Taiwan.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved two bills in mid-November that call on the sale of F-16 planes to Taiwan: H.R. 2918 and H.R. 2992. Those bills are a reaction to the Obama administration's decision in September not to sell Taiwan new planes, but instead to help service Taiwan's existing fleet.

Supporters of the legislation argue that Taiwan is best able to maintain peace with China, which over the years has built up more of a military presence across the Taiwan Strait.

The Focus Taiwan story said Diaz-Balart and Rivera "promised to push the U.S. administration to deliver on its security commitments to Taiwan."