Did Four Taiwan F-16 Fighters Just Defect To China?!

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Did four ROCAF F-16 fighter jets from Taiwan just defect to China?!

Take a look at the viral claim, and find out what the facts really are!

 

Claim : Four F-16 Fighter Jets From Taiwan Just Defected To China!

Many people are sharing a post on WhatsApp and social media, which claims that four F-16 fighter jets from Taiwan just defected to China.

It’s really long, so feel free to skip to the next section for the facts…

👍IMPORTANT NEWS🇸🇬 :- is reported that at 4:35 in the morning, four F16 fighter jets of a certain air force in Taiwan suddenly flew towards the center line of the strait during routine training and lost contact with the ground.

The Taiwan Air Force sent two fighter jets to intercept it, and the two sides exchanged fire in the air. The four F16 fighter jets that defected have now landed at a military base in Fujian.

There was an air battle over the Taiwan Strait. Four Taiwan F16 fighter jets jointly defected and engaged in an air battle with two interceptor fighters. The interceptors were shot down, and the life and death of the pilots were unknown.

The four F16 fighter jets and their crews that have landed safely at a military base in Fujian have been secretly protected by the military.

At present, both the mainland and Taiwan have remained silent on the incident. The United States called Taiwan’s leaders to express concern about the incident.

The four planes were stationed at Taoyuan Airport – the 16th Air Wing. The captain of the pilot is Major Han Rongming, and the plane number is TY160531.

According to eyewitnesses, one plane was slightly injured when it landed; the four planes landed successfully under the cover of eight SU-27 fighter jets from the mainland!

According to reliable information (from a well-informed source within the Air Force), the four F-16s that defected from the Taiwan Air Force the day before yesterday were transferred from Fuzhou Airport to Wuhu Air Force Base in Anhui under the “protection” of eight Su-27s.

The four F-16 pilots were warmly welcomed by the leadership led by the base commander. The four F-16s and their pilots have all been transferred to reliable locations.

According to rumors, the four pilots may go to Beijing next week to meet with senior Chinese military leaders. In response to this, the Chinese spokesperson said in response to questions from Chinese and foreign reporters that there has been no notification from relevant departments.

The Taiwan authorities have also remained tight-lipped about this. The U.S. Pentagon was extremely angry about this, because one of the RF-16s involved a lot of important electronic intelligence and important equipment, and Japan was also very surprised and said that it would upgrade the related equipment of the Self-Defense Force’s f-16 (transfer). 👍🇸🇬

重要新闻，凌晨4：35分，台某空军四架F16战机在例行训练中，突然朝海峡中线飞去并与地面失联。台空军即派两架战机拦截，双方在空中发生交火。叛逃的四架F16战机，现已降落在福建某军事基地。
台海上空发生空战，台四架F16战机联合叛逃并与两架拦截战机发生空战，拦截机被击落，飞行员生死不明。已安全降落在福建某军事基地的四架F16战机及机组人员均被军方秘密保护。目前，大陆、台湾都对此事件保持沉默，美国电致台湾领导人，表示对此事感到忧虑。这四架飞机是驻扎在桃源机场――第16航空联队的飞机。
带队长机驾驶员为韩容铭（音）少校，飞机编号――TY160531。
据目击者称有一架飞机降落时，机尾擦地受轻伤；四架飞机在大陆八架SU-27战机的掩护下成功降落！

根据可靠消息（来自一空军内部消息灵通人士），前日台湾空军叛逃的四架F-16在八架苏-27的“保护”下，已于昨天从福州机场转移到安徽芜湖空军基地。四位F-16飞行员受到基地司令为首的领导热烈欢迎。
这四架F-16和飞行员均已转移到可靠地方，据传，此四位飞行员可能于下周到北京进见中共军方高层领导。
对此，中国新闻发言人在答中外记者问时表示目前没有得到有关部门的通告。
台湾当局对此也三缄其口。美国五角大楼对此事极为愤怒，因为其中一架RF-16 涉及到许多重要电子情报和重要设备，日本也感到十分吃惊，表示要提升自卫队的f-16的相关设备🌹👍🇸🇬

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Recommended : Are Taiwan Government Officials Secretly Japanese Spies?!

 

Truth : No F-16 Fighter Jets From Taiwan Ever Defected To China!

This is yet another example of FAKE NEWS created by the Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛), and shared by pro-CCP netizens, and here are the reasons why…

Fact #1 : This Fake Story First Circulated In 2003

This fake story isn’t new. It first went viral in June 2003, when a mainland Chinese military publication called The Extensive Military Report, published a report claiming that four Taiwanese F-16 fighter jets defected to China.

The article said that four Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) F-16 Block 20 fighter jets from the 401st Fighter Wing based at the Taoyuan Air Base defected to an airbase in the Fujian province, under a heavy escort of eight Chinese Su-27 fighter jets.

Allegedly, the four F-16 fighter jets “escaped” during a routine exercise flight at 4 PM on May 27, 2003. Two “loyal” F-16 fighter jets gave chase, and one was shot down by the defecting planes while the second managed to return to base.

Fact #2 : Both Taiwan + China Labelled The Story As False

When the story broke in June 2003, both the Taiwanese and Chinese governments labelled the story as false.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) called the article “a ridiculous rumour”, while the China’s foreign ministry denied the rumour at a press conference.

Taiwanese spokesperson Huang Suey-sheng pointed out that even the Chinese authorities rebutted the claims.

Fact #3 : ROCAF F-16 Tail Numbers Do Not Exist

The original fake story specifically mentioned that one of the defecting F-16 fighter jets had a tail number of 160531.

The modified fake story that is currently circulating on WhatsApp and social media in 2022 said that the aircraft had a tail number of TY160531.

They are both false. No ROCAF aircraft has either tail number.

ROCAF F-16 fighter jets have a four-digit tail number, without any TY prefix.

Fact #4 : ROCAF F-16 Fighters Are Not Based In Taoyuan

Both the original and the updated fake stories falsely claim that the defecting F-16 fighter jets were stationed at the Taoyuan Air Base.

Taiwan’s F-16 fighter jets are based at the Chiayi Air Base in Chiayi, and the Chiashan Air Force Base in Hualien.

Fact #5 : Taoyuan Air Base No Longer Exists!

Taoyuan Air Base no longer exists! In 2007, it was turned over to the Republic of China Navy, and renamed to Taoyuan Naval Base.

Fact #6 : Taiwan Only Has Five Fighter Wings

The original fake story claimed that the defecting F-16 fighters came from the 401st Fighter Wing, while the updated fake story claimed they came from the 16th Air Wing.

Neither the 401st Fighter Wing nor the 16th Air Wing exist in the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF).

There was a 401st Tactical Combined Wing operating out of Taoyuan Air Base, and it had a 16th Tactical Fighter Squadron. But it only operated F-104 fighter jets from the 1960s until the early 1990s.

Currently, Taiwan has five fighter wings, of which only the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing and the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing are equipped with F-16 fighter jets.

Fact #7 : This Is Just Chinese Propaganda

This is just another example of Chinese propaganda created by the infamous Chinese 50 Cent Army (wumao, 五毛).

All of the wumao articles and videos that I looked at so far have proven to be false… at every instance. So please watch out for such false claims.

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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.

He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.

 

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