Minister of National Defense Kao Kuang-chi (高廣圻) yesterday said a Taiwanese military delegation is taking part in a US Marine Corps conference on maritime and amphibious operations in Hawaii this week.
Replying to questions at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Kao said the delegation is attending the US Pacific Command Amphibious Leaders Symposium (PALS).
“We always had military exchanges with the US, which have been ongoing and are being maintained steadily,” Kao said.
A military official told reporters that the ministry welcomed the invitation to join the three-day event and sees the nation’s participation as a positive development, enhancing the relationship between Taiwanese and US military forces.
The delegation is being led by the commander of the Kaohsiung-based 99th Marine Brigade, Major General Liu Yu-ping (劉豫屏).
More than 22 nations, including the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Chile, are taking part in the inaugural PALS event at US Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, with about 110 international and US groups participating.
“PALS brought together senior leaders of allied and partner marine corps, naval infantries and militaries spanning the Indo-Asia-Pacific region who have an interest in military amphibious capability development,” US Department of Defense spokesperson Colonel Steve Warren said earlier this week.
Group briefings and discussions are centering on observations of an amphibious landing as part of the joint sea-based exercises, and are to conclude with scenario-based tabletop exercises, Warren said.
Participants have discussed ship-to-shore tactics, capabilities of their respective militaries and new opportunities to work together, US officials have said.
“These types of engagements result in better training and interoperability with our friends and partners throughout the region,” Warren said.
PALS participants on Tuesday observed an amphibious landing by the US 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, launched from the USS Rushmore, a news release from US Department of Defense said.
The landing was part of the US Pacific Fleet’s Culebra Koa 15, a joint exercise taking place in Hawaii at the same time as the symposium.
China was not invited to the symposium “due to specific US laws prohibiting the involvement of the People’s Liberation Army [PLA],” Warren said on Tuesday.
“Because we will be including discussions and demonstrations of ship-to-shore assaults, US Public Law 106-65, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000, prohibits us from having [military-to-military] exchanges or contact with representatives of the PLA that include force projection operations and advanced combined-arms and joint combat operations,” he said.
Warren said that PALS “also paves the way for enhanced regional stability and economic ties.”
Political pundits said the Taiwanese delegation’s trip to Hawaii is significant and positive development, since Taiwan has not been invited to attend large international military events in the past decade.
Additional reporting by CNA and staff writer
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to