Taiwan flaunts its air superiority over China

Taiwan flaunted its fighter jets in the biggest-ever air show on the island yesterday, a show of strength as tensions simmer with arch-foe China.

US-made F-16s, French Mirage fighters and Taiwan-made Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs) streaked across the sky above the Taoyuan airbase in northern Taiwan, spinning 360 degrees in sharp formations in front of a cheering crowd.

The exhibition came as Taiwan and China hold annual military drills, with tensions especially high this summer because Beijing is convinced the island it views as a renegade province could push for formal statehood under President Chen Shui-bian.

It is a move, China says, that can lead to war. "Communist China has deployed missiles pointed at Taiwan and is building its sea and air power to attack Taiwan," Chen told a conference in Taipei.

Military analysts say there is now a rough balance of power across the Taiwan Strait: China's 2.5-million-strong People's Liberation Army far outnumber Taiwan's 400,000 troops, but the island maintains a qualitative advantage.

The PLA has about 3,400 aircraft, but Taiwan possesses three times as many fourth-generation fighters, according to a Pentagon report issued in May. Taiwan says it has about 340 F-16s, Mirage fighters and IDFs.