A new shoulder patch seen during a two-day series of military exercises last week has caused a minor sensation in defense circles, as Taiwan and Japan continue to spar over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
During the Combat Readiness Tri-Service Exercises in Greater Kaohsiung and Hualien, members of the Taiwan Military Journalists Association were seen wearing a patch depicting a Taiwanese soldier planting a Republic of China (ROC) flag on a rock, with the inscription 釣魚台是我們的, or “the Diaoyutais belong to us.”
Although not officially sanctioned by the Ministry of National Defense, the patch was a “show of support for Taiwan’s territorial claims,” one of the journalists told reporters present at the exercises, which did not include scenarios involving the disputed islets, but instead simulated a submarine incursion and defensive measures to counter an assault on an airport.
Photo: J. Michael Cole, Taipei Times
A similar inscription was seen one week after Japan announced the purchase of three of the islets comprising the Diaoyutais in September last year, this time on a Mk82 “Snake Eye” 500lb bomb carried by a F-16 taking off at Hualien Air Force Base as it headed for a bombing exercise.
The ministry said at the time that while there were “more appropriate” ways to express patriotism, none of the pilots would be reprimanded, as it was understandable that some would want to show their devotion to the nation they are charged with defending.
Meanwhile, Japanese media reported at the weekend that a Coast Guard Administration vessel was seen operating in waters near the Diaoyutais, coming within 39km off Uotsuri Island, the largest islet in the chain, known as the Senkakus by the Japanese.
The 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, said the Taiwanese vessel entered the area at 7:10am. The Hualien 119, a 500-tonne medium coastal patrol ship, left the contiguous area at 8:25am. Around the same time, Chinese patrol vessels were observed sailing in the contiguous zone outside Japanese waters for the third day in a row.
The Coast Guard Administration said the Hualien was on a routine maritime patrol mission.
On Thursday, Coast Guard Administration vessels engaged in a water cannon battle — the second in recent months — after Japanese coast guard ships attempted to intercept a Taiwanese fishing boat heading for the Diaoyutais.
Activists on board, members of the Taipei-based Chinese Association for Protecting the Diaoyutais, were hoping to enshrine a statue of Matsu on one of the islets.
In a twist to the story, the president of the board of the Greater Taichung-based Matsu temple from which the statue originated is former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in jail in November last year on corruption charges.
Yen was forced to step down as legislator in Taichung’s second electoral district, prompting a by-election on Saturday in which his son, Yen Kuang-hen (顏寬恆), defeated Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱).
Officials in Taipei and Tokyo maintain that the incident will not undermine efforts to resume bilateral talks on fisheries, which are expected to begin soon.
During an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the idea, proposed recently by a senior Chinese Communist Party official, of “shelving” the territorial dispute was “not applicable, as the Senkakus have long been part of Japan.”
“There is no room for diplomatic discussion,” he said.
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER: In Germany, the sector would be developed around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s plant, and extend to Poland and the Czech Republic The Executive Yuan’s economic diplomacy task force has approved programs aimed at bolstering the nation’s chip diplomacy with Japan and European nations. The task force in its first meeting had its operational mechanism and organizational structure confirmed, with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) the convener, and Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) the deputy conveners. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would be the convener of the task force’s strategy group in charge of policy planning for economic diplomacy. The meeting was attended by the heads of the National Development Council, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the
RSS