The Ministry of National Defense will assess whether an offshore terminal for naval frigates should be set up on Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島) in the South China Sea, Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang (楊念祖) said at a legislative hearing yesterday.
Local media reported earlier this month that the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), which is responsible for the island’s security, is hoping to build an offshore terminal at the island to accommodate frigates of up to 2,000 tonnes.
It also wants to extend the island’s airport runway, the reports said.
During a hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) followed up on the reports with Yang, whose ministry provides personnel training for the defense of the island.
Lin asked whether the ministry had brought up the idea with the CGA of having the wharf accommodate naval frigates or 500 tonne to 1,000 tonne stealth missile boats, to which Yang replied that no discussions had been held.
“We will make a thorough assessment before consulting with the CGA on the issue,” Yang said.
The CGA set aside NT$19 million (US$638,220) in its budget this year to finance initial planning of the pier reconstruction project, Lin said.
Yang also told Lin that the ministry’s “South China Sea task force” has been renamed the “West Pacific task force,” but he did not explain the reason behind the change.
Taiping Island, with an area of 0.49km2, lies about 1,600km southwest of Kaohsiung and is the biggest island in the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) chain.
The South China Sea region, thought to be rich in oil deposits and marine biodiversity, is claimed either entirely or in part by Taiwan, Brunei, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The CGA confirmed on Monday that its personnel stationed on Taiping Island recently conducted a live-fire drill to help safeguard the country’s sovereignty over the area.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS