The navy announced yesterday that a Kang Ding-class frigate and S70-C Blue Hawk helicopters have been dispatched to accompany Coast Guard Administration (CGA) vessels patrolling waters between Taiwan and the Philippines to protect Taiwanese fishing vessels.
The navy said the frigates and helicopters had joined three coast guard ships on a four-day patrol mission, with a Knox-class frigate also nearby.
The navy fully backs coast guard action to protect fishing boats, it added.
The coast guard said it had dispatched two vessels — one equipped with a 20mm cannon and the other with a 40mm cannon — to patrol the waters and another coast guard ship has left Kaohsiung Harbor to join the navy-led patrol mission.
Jang De-hau (張德皓), director of the Coast Guard Administration’s Southern Coastal Patrol Office, said that if coast guard ships spotted the Philippine vessel that opened fire on a Taiwanese fishing boat on Thursday, killing a member of its crew, it would be seized.
Those on board would be arrested in accordance with international maritime law and would be brought to Taiwan to face a criminal investigation, Jang added.
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
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INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
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