BEIJING: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said her government has asked to purchase advanced new fighter jets and tanks from the US.
If approved, the move could set off new tensions between the US and China, which considers Taiwan its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary. Speaking during a visit to Hawaii on Wednesday, Tsai said requests have been submitted for F-16V fighters and M1 Abrams tanks.
The new weaponry would “greatly enhance our land and air capabilities, strengthen military morale, and show to the world the US commitment to Taiwan’s defense,” Tsai said.
The US is Taiwan’s main supplier of defensive weapons, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. The F-16V is the most advanced version of the plane that already forms the backbone of Taiwan’s air forces, while the M1 Abrams would mark a significant upgrade from the aging, refurbished models the army now uses. Reports say Taiwan is seeking 66 of the planes.
Taiwan’s arms requests are carefully reviewed to ensure they suit “Taiwan’s actual needs,” Tsai said.
“We are also investing heavily into training as well as modernizing our defense strategies to prioritize the use of asymmetrical capabilities, so that they more closely correspond with the realities of the threat we face,” Tsai said. “Altogether, I hope that these actions will ensure that the people of Taiwan remain able to choose our own futures, free of coercion.”
Tsai, who says she will seek a second four-year term next year, said Taiwan was also stepping-up training as it prepared to transition to an all-volunteer force and pointed to three consecutive years of defense budget increases.
“These funds have been directed into programs that will make a real difference in Taiwan’s defense, including asymmetrical capabilities,” she said.
Tsai’s unofficial Hawaii visit comes at the end of a trip to the Pacific island nations of Palau, Nauru, and the Marshall Islands, three of Taiwan’s dwindling number of allies that now total just 17 as Beijing seeks to increase Taiwan’s international isolation. The sides separated amid civil war in 1949.
Beijing has cut contacts with Tsai’s government over Tsai’s refusal to endorse its claim that Taiwan is a part of China. It has also stepped up efforts at military intimidation, such as circling the island with bombers and fighters in what are officially termed training missions.
Elsewhere in remarks carried by satellite link to the conservative Washington think tank the Heritage Foundation, Tsai said she found developments in Hong Kong “deeply concerning.” China has touted Hong Kong as a future model Taiwan under what it calls “one country, two systems.”
Critics say the semi-autonomous territory’s civil liberties have been gradually eroded since it was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997.
“Hong Kong is a reminder that all politicians in Taiwan, regardless of politically parties, should carefully avoid falling into a trap laid by China, which includes economic incentives and other promises but ultimately leads to the same destination that is one country two system,” Tsai said.
Taiwan’s Tsai confirms request to buy new US fighters, tanks
Taiwan’s Tsai confirms request to buy new US fighters, tanks
- Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said requests have been submitted for F-16V fighters and M1 Abrams tanks
- Taiwan is stepping-up training as it prepared to transition to an all-volunteer force
World welcomes 2026 with fireworks after year of Trump and turmoil
- Australia holds defiant celebrations after its worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years
- Hong Kong holds a subdued event after a deadly fire in tower blocks
PARIS, France: People around the globe toasted the end of 2025 on Wednesday, bidding farewell to one of the hottest years on record, packed with Trump tariffs, a Gaza truce and vain hopes for peace in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin used his traditional New Year address to tell his compatriots their military “heroes” would deliver victory in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, while his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was “10 percent” away from a deal to end the fighting.
Earlier, New Year celebrations took on a somber tone in Sydney as revellers held a minute of silence for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting before nine tons of fireworks lit up the harbor city at the stroke of midnight.
Seeing in the New Year in Moscow, Natalia Spirina, a pensioner from the central city of Ulyanovsk, said that in 2026 she hoped for “our military operation to end as soon as possible, for the guys to come home and for peace and stability to finally be established in Russia.”
Over the border in Vyshgorod, Ukrainian beauty salon manager Daria Lushchyk said the war had made her work “hell” — but that her clients were still coming regardless.
“Nothing can stop our Ukrainian girls from coming in and getting themselves glam,” Lushchyk said.
Back in Sydney, heavily armed police patrolled among hundreds of thousands of people lining the shore barely two weeks after a father and son allegedly opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years.
Parties paused for a minute of silence an hour before midnight, with the famed Sydney Harbor Bridge bathed in white light to symbolize peace.
Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that will stretch to glitzy New York via Scotland’s Hogmanay festival.
More than two million people are expected to pack Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.
In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display planned for Victoria Harbor was canceled in homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks.
Truce and tariffs
This year has brought a mix of stress and excitement for many, war for others still — and offbeat trends, with Labubu dolls becoming a worldwide craze.
Thieves plundered the Louvre in a daring heist, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.
The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican chose a new, American, pope and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk laid bare America’s deep political divisions.
Donald Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown.
Trump used his Truth Social platform to lash out at his sliding approval ratings ahead of midterm elections to be held in November.
“Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!” he wrote.
After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, US pressure helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October — though both sides have accused each other of flagrant violations.
“We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,” said Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali. “We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.”
In contrast, there was optimism despite abiding internal challenges in Syria, where residents of the capital Damascus celebrated a full year since the fall of Bashar Assad.
“There is no fear, the people are happy, all of Syria is one and united, and God willing ... it will be a good year for the people and the wise leadership,” marketing manager Sahar Al-Said, 33, told AFP against a backdrop of ringing bells near Damascus’s Bab Touma neighborhood.
“I hope, God willing, that we will love each other. Loving each other is enough,” said Bashar Al-Qaderi, 28.
Sports, space and AI
In Dubai, thousands of revellers queued for up to nine hours for a spectacular fireworks and laser display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
After a build-up featuring jet skis and floating pianos on an adjacent lake, a 10-minute burst of pyrotechnics and LED effects lit up the needle-shaped, 828-meter tall (2,717-feet) tower.
The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence.
NASA’s Artemis II mission, backed by tech titan Elon Musk, will launch a crewed spacecraft to circle the moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.
After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.
Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will compete in the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
