Countering military threats from China: Taiwan unveils new F-16V fighter jets

The F-16s screamed across the sky at Chiayi Air Base on the island's southwestern coast as pilots performed aerial maneuvers to demonstrate the capabilities of Taiwan's first squadron of US-made F-16V, or Viper, fighter jets, reports CNN.

The planes were upgraded from older F-16A/B fighter jets, originally acquired by Taiwan in the 1990s, and are equipped with advanced radar systems and new mission computers, according to the official Central News Agency (CNA). The island has plans to upgrade 141 fighters to the newer version by 2023, the news channel reported.

That upgrade has already been done to more than 60 F-16s, Vice Defense Minister Wang Hsin-lung told Taiwan's Parliament on Wednesday as quoted by CNN.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was quoted as saying during the commissioning ceremony by CNN that the formation of a new F-16V combat wing has demonstrated the deepening friendship between the island and the US.

"The Lockheed Martin team has provided us with a lot of assistance in completing the upgrade," she was quoted as saying by CNN. "This not only signals the further progress of Taiwan-US friendship, but also represents a firm commitment to Taiwan-US relations."

China has stepped up its military pressure on Taiwan in recent times.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan — a territory with its own democratically elected government — maintains that it is an autonomous country and has political and economic relations with several other nations that recognize its sovereignty.