Although Taiwan’s air force is well trained and well equipped, mostly with American equipment, it is dwarfed by China. Beijing regards the democratic island as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control.
According to the Taiwan Air Force, two F-5E fighters from the air force, each with one pilot on board, crashed into the sea off the southeast coast of the island after they allegedly collided in the air during a training mission.
One pilot was found and taken by helicopter to the hospital, but later died while the other was missing, Air Force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei told reporters the plane was in good condition.
The air force has now grounded the F-5 fleet and suspended all training missions, he said.
The U.S.-built F-5 fighters first served in Taiwan in the 1970s and were mostly retired from frontline activities, although some are still used for training and as backup for the main navy.
Another F-5 crashed in October and the pilot died. The following month, a much more modern F-16 crashed on the east coast of Taiwan, and the pilot of the plane was also killed.
In January last year, Taiwan’s biggest military official was killed among eight people after a helicopter transporting them to visit soldiers crashed into a mountainous area near the capital Taipei.
The incidents have raised concerns about training and maintenance, but also the pressure the air force is under in response to repeated Chinese flights near the island.