Will US let Taiwan buy F-35 jets with ‘protection fees’ demanded by Trump?

The US president-elect has repeatedly called on Taipei to raise defence spending but experts doubt advanced weaponry sales will go ahead

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F-35 jets on the USS George Washington during Freedom Edge, a trilateral exercise with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:02pm, 16 Nov 2024Updated: 8:02pm, 16 Nov 2024

Taiwan is exploring the possibility of acquiring F-35 fighter jets and other advanced US weaponry, but pundits doubt the plan will get past Washington’s long-held concerns about military technology leaking into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army.

According to a recent Financial Times report, Taipei has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump’s team about procuring up to US$15 billion in advanced weapons to demonstrate its commitment to self-defence.

The report, based on information from multiple unnamed sources in Taiwan and the US, suggests the island may request up to 60 F-35s, four E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft, 10 decommissioned Aegis-equipped warships, and 400 Patriot missiles.

The reported procurement discussions follow Trump’s repeated demands during the election campaign for Taiwan to pay “protection fees” and raise defence spending to 10 per cent of its GDP, from its current 2.45 per cent.

Trump has also expressed concerns over Taiwan’s global dominance in the semiconductor manufacturing sector, alleging that it has “taken 100 per cent of America’s chip business”.

In May last year, a senior Taiwanese military official confirmed for the first time that Taiwan had asked for F-35s, but the US had declined to sell.