Senior Taiwan defence official to visit US for fighter jet ceremony

TAIPEI (Reuters) - One of Taiwan's deputy defence ministers will visit the United States for a ceremony this week marking the completion of a new F-16 fighter jet for the island, the first acknowledged such trip since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

The United States in 2019 approved an $8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island's F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, the largest in Asia, to strengthen its defences in the face of a stepped up threat from China, which views Taiwan as its own.

Taiwan has been converting 141 F-16A/B jets into the F-16V type and has ordered 66 new F-16Vs, which have advanced avionics, weapons and radar systems to better face down the Chinese air force, including its stealthy J-20 fighters.

But Taiwan has complained of delays for the new F-16Vs, saying problems include software issues.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan air force planning department director Chiang Yuan-chi said the first of the new F-16Vs would leave the factory in the U.S. state of South Carolina this week.

A deputy Taiwan defence minister would lead a delegation to attend the ceremony, he added, without naming the minister or giving other details. Taiwan has two deputy defence ministers.

"The first F-16V has been assembled," Chiang said, adding the order is expected to be completed by next year.

Taiwan's F-16 pilots are trained at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona.

The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.

Unlike visits to the United States by senior officials from allies like Japan and Britain, conducted openly, those of Taiwanese officials, especially military, are kept low key and often not officially confirmed.

Last year, Taiwan's navy chief visited the United States.

China has repeatedly called for the United States to end any military contacts with Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, but the two have no formal diplomatic relations, with Washington recognising only Beijing's government and not Taipei's democratically elected one.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard. Editing by Gerry Doyle)