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By Ben Blanchard
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited a low-key but critical maintenance base for fighter jet engines on Saturday, offering encouragement as the armed forces of the island claimed by China rallied. they struggle in the face of repeated raids by the Chinese air force.
This month alone, China’s drills have included its planes crossing the midline of the sensitive Taiwan Strait and exercising near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the South China Sea.
Beijing regards Taiwan as a wayward province and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratic island under its control.
The Taiwanese air force has repeatedly rushed to intercept Chinese aircraft. Although they have not flown over mainland Taiwan, the flights have increased the pressure, both financial and physical, on the Taiwanese air force to ensure that its planes are ready to depart at any time.
Visiting the Gangshan Air Base in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Tsai received a detailed account of how the maintenance team ensures that the Taiwan F-16 and other fighters are operating at peak performance.
She seemed a bit puzzled when told that the cost of a small component for the F-CK-1 Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter was T $ 380,000 ($ 13,000).
Speaking later to sailors at the nearby Zuoying naval base, Tsai vowed to be the strongest sponsor of the island’s armed forces.
“If there was no support or help from all of you, the unwavering fighting force of the military would be greatly reduced,” he said.
Taiwan’s air force is dwarfed by China’s, and the tension from multiple exits to Taiwan’s armed forces has begun to manifest itself.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said this month that the “dramatic increase” in the threat level, coupled with the fact that the aircraft is “middle-aged”, has led to a huge increase in originally unbudgeted maintenance costs .
Saldik Fafana, 21, an air force engineer trainee at Gangshan base, said he had noticed an impact recently. “There is more work,” she told reporters.
‘CONSTANTLY NEXT’
Taiwan is renewing its lineup of fighters.
The United States last year approved an $ 8 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would bring the island’s total to more than 200, Asia’s largest fleet of F-16s.
Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang expressed concern on Wednesday about the cost of tensions with China.
“Every time the communist planes harass Taiwan, our air force takes to the skies and it is extremely expensive. This is not only a burden for Taiwan, but also quite a burden for China,” he said.
A Taiwan-based diplomat, citing conversations with security officials, said China appeared to be waging a campaign of attrition with its frequent overflights.
“China is trying to wear down the Taiwanese pilots by keeping them constantly nervous,” the diplomat said on condition of anonymity.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, in a report to parliament last month, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said China’s flights over the strait’s midline were aimed at reducing Taiwan’s response time.
This has put “enormous pressure” on Taiwan’s front-line responders, he said.
Chinese flights to southwest Taiwan, even at night, are “an attempt to deplete our air defenses,” the ministry added, warning that if they become regular elements, “they will increase our response load.”
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Edited by William Mallard)
