U.S. may upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fighters

TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 7 (UPI) -- Unconfirmed media reports indicate that the United States may allow its contractors to upgrade Taiwan's F-16 A/B jet fighters.

The timeline for the improvements is later this year or in 2012, The China Post reported Tuesday.

If implemented, the upgrades would bring Taiwan's F-16s to rough parity with the F-16AM/BMs deployed by U.S. European allies.

For the last 10 years Taipei has sought to acquire front-line F-16 C/Ds from the United States to upgrade its fleet of F-16 A/B jet fighters but the discussions have been affected by Washington's concerns to sustain good relations with Beijing, which doesn't recognize Taiwan's sovereignty, insisting that it is instead an integral part of China.

As Washington endorses a "one China" policy, it is uncertain as to whether Taiwan will able to purchase the requested 66 F-16 C/Ds, as China has made it clear that such a deal would lead to consequences for the United States.