The Coast Guard Administration and the Ministry of National Defense plan to conduct humanitarian rescue exercises on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) tomorrow, as part of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) promise to turn the island into a humanitarian aid and resupply base, an official said yesterday.
The official, who declined to be named, said that exercises are intended to be a “soft” reassertion of national sovereignty over the island, increasing international awareness without increasing tensions in the South China Sea through “muscle flexing” focused on military power.
Coast Guard Director-General Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) is to attend, the official said.
Photo: Luo Tien-pin, Taipei Times
Tsai declared the island would become a humanitarian rescue center on July 19 after the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled it was legally a “rock,” and therefore not entitled to an exclusive economic zone.
The Coast Guard Administration’s Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) and Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) commands have provided numerous forms of emergency medical and humanitarian aid since the agency in 2000 assumed the duty of sending personnel to the islands, the official said, adding that agency statistics showed a total of 70 cases of assistance involving 100 people.
Government statistics showed that international humanitarian aid on the part of the Pratas Islands Command comprises the greatest single category of cases, including 25 incidents comprising 43 people.
Photo provided by a visitor to the island
The Spratly Islands Command based on Itu Aba most recently aided three Taiwanese fishing boats which had run out of fresh water and applied to dock and resupply, the official said, adding that a member of one crew also received medical treatment for cellulitis in his lower leg.
A more urgent case occurred two years ago when a Chinese fishing boat applied for medical assistance after two crew were severely injured when a lift broke.
One crew member was already dead by the time the boat arrived, while the other had several internal injuries to his waist and back.
After cleaning and dressing his wounds and determining his condition was stable, he was sent back to the boat and returned to China, the official said.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS