Two American F-18C fighters made a precautionary landing at Tainan Air Force Base in southern Taiwan on Wednesday. One of the planes reportedly had a mechanical glitch.
Pentagon official Paul Greenberg said that the two fighters were based in Japan’s Kadena Air Base. Greenberg said there were no injuries and no damage to either aircraft. The US Air Force said on Thursday that US maintenance personnel and parts arrived in Tainan on a US C-130 transport plane in the afternoon on the same day.
When asked by an opposition party legislator in Taiwan whether the jets’ presence had to do with Taiwan’s recent application to join a China-backed investment bank, Foreign Minister David Lin said that was not likely.
"We did not interpret it that way. I don’t think there is any direct connection between the two issues. I think the situation reflects Taiwan’s close relations and cooperation with the United States," said Lin.
The landing was considered a rare situation because Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States, and US military aircraft do not use air bases in Taiwan.