Citing concerns over severe breaches of national security, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) has strongly opposed the Ministry of Transportation and Communication’s (MOTC) approval of applications from Chinese ships to moor off the coast of Taiwan today to assist with the installation of offshore wind turbines.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said on Friday that she invited National Security Bureau Director-General Lee Hsiang-chou (李翔宙) and Minister of National Defense Yen Ming (嚴明) to explain how the installation could harm national security.
Lee was quoted by Kuan as saying that the Chinese lifting ship the Huadian 1001 must be towed into a dry dock in Taichung Harbor for closer inspection, adding that the ship must take the straightest possible route from Shanghai to Taichung Harbor to minimize risk to national security.
Yen was quoted by Kuan as saying that the ships “must not” be allowed access to “internal waters.”
In its dicussion with the bureau held later that afternoon, the defense ministry was adamant in its position that the Chinese ships “must not” be allowed access to “internal waters,” Kuan quoted MND Deputy Minister Kao Tien-chung (高天忠) as telling her, adding that information about tidal speeds, tidal direction, wave heights, tidal periods, water temperatures, seasalinity and density, and seabed materials could all be revealed.
As Fuhai Wind Farm Corp (福海風電公司) has applied to use Chinese ships to set up 30 platforms at different depths, Kao was quoted by Kuan as saying that Chinese ships would be able to return to China with complete and even three-dimensional hydrological information, adding that it was quite possible that the ships could also capture the routes of other vessels passing through the area.
Kao said the defense ministry strongly suggested that the MOTC deny the Huadian 1001 entry, adding that if the ship cannot be substituted, it would not be allowed to leave port before it is fully inspected by officials and after the results of the sweep were confirmed by officials from both the Maritime and Port Bureau and the defense ministry.
Kuan said that the Chinese towboat the Xigang No. 36, tasked with delivering the Huadian 1001, should be denied berthing rights in Taichung Harbor, adding that its presence could potentially allow it to record the sonar patterns of passing ships and establish a comprehensive record of ships using the harbor.
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