Taiwan says delayed US F-16s to start arriving this year

TAIPEI — Deliveries of delayed F-16V fighter jets for Taiwan will begin this year with production at “full capacity,” the island’s defense ministry said after senior defense officials visited the United States. Taiwan, which faces a rising military threat from China, has complained of repeated delays to weapons ordered from the US, the most important international backer and arms supplier for the island, which Beijing claims as its territory. The United States in 2019 approved an $8-billion sale of Lockheed Martin LMT.N F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the island’s F-16 fleet to more than 200…