The US will help upgrade Taiwan's F-16 fleet.

On the evening of September 21, Taiwan said the US had agreed to help upgrade the island's F-16 fighter jets.

The Pentagon announced the same day that the upgrade program has a total value of 5.85 billion USD and will include equipment, components, training support and logistics.

The US move, announced simultaneously by Taiwan's Defense and Foreign Ministries, comes as many in Taiwan fear the balance of power between the island and mainland China is increasingly tilting in Beijing's favor.

In a hastily arranged press conference in Taipei, Taiwan's Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said: "After this upgrade, the combat capabilities of Taiwan's air force will be significantly improved."

According to the Pentagon, Taiwanese pilots will go to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona to train in "disaster relief missions, non-combat evacuation operations and other emergency situations."

The US decision ended months of speculation about the extent to which Washington would help Taiwan modernize its air force./.

(According to Vietnam+)