The nation’s military outpost on the disputed Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the South China Sea is being threatened by the latest deployment of mobile missiles and artillery guns on nearby islands held by China and Vietnam, according to a new report submitted to the Control Yuan.
The Ministry of National Defense report pointed to the increased buildup of troops and weapons by China and Vietnam on their island bases near the military outpost on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島).
Of particular concern are the moves by Vietnam to enhance its troop presence with more sophisticated weapons on Sand Cay — known as Dunqian Sand Island (敦謙沙洲) in Chinese and Son Ca Island to the Vietnamese — which lies just 11km east of Itu Aba Island.
The report said that Vietnam has deployed an unspecified amount of new shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to its expanded marine base on Sand Cay in the past year.
“The effective range of the Vietnamese shoulder-fired missiles is about 1.5km. However, Vietnam may plan to deploy these portable missiles to reef islets closer to Taiping Island or might carry them on patrol boats to within striking range. In such a scenario, our military transport aircraft heading to Taiping Island would be directly threatened,” the report said.
It also provided surveillance information showing that Vietnam has begun work to artificially expand Sand Cay Island and to build military installations.
Meanwhile, China has reclaimed major tracts of land and constructed military installations on five reef and shoal locations claimed by China in the Spratlys since last year.
The Chinese construction operations in the Spratlys are on Cuarteron Reef (Huayang, 華陽), Gaven Reef (Nansyun, 南薰) and Fiery Cross Reef (Yongshu Reef, 永暑礁), which are also claimed by Taiwan, as well as Union Reef North and Union Reef South.
To counter the threats posed by China and Vietnam in the South China Sea, legislators had requested the deployment of a marine force, instead of coast guard units, to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands 東沙群島) and the Spratlys.
Legislators said that the ministry has acted in a contradictory fashion, being outspoken about the increasing number of threats faced by the Itu Aba Island military outpost while continuously dismissing calls to deploy marines and declining requests to have warships permanently stationed on Taiwan’s island outposts.
The report was part of the Control Yuan’s special investigation into the current regional security situation in East Asia.
The report recommended that the government boost its defenses in the South China Sea, given that China, Vietnam and the Philippines have all built up military installations and deployed new weapons on 12 islands and shoals around Itu Aba Island.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation