In a bid to raise public awareness about the nation’s sovereignty over the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), the Ministry of National Defense has teamed up with the Ministry of Education to allow elementary-school teachers who teach about national defense to participate in the Nansha Camp.
The defense ministry on Tuesday last week published the application rules for this year’s camp, which, apart from the usual admission of three groups of teaching staff and students from graduate schools, include a place for elementary-school teachers who have classes on national defense.
The education ministry is to select 21 participants from among elementary-school teachers who apply to take part in the camp and put them in the fourth and last group to leave for the islands, the defense ministry said.
Applicants to an event scheduled in July last year that had been canceled due to a reconnaissance mission would be put in the third group, the defense ministry said.
Applicants who cannot attend will forfeit their places to those on a waiting list, it added.
The camp is to run from May to July, with each group committing to a learning program of nine days, it said.
On the fourth day, participants will board a military vessel from Kaohsiung Harbor bound for Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) — the largest island in the Spratlys, which has been administered by Taiwan since 1956 — to learn about its history as an outpost and experience the lifestyle of coast guard rangers, it said.
Participants can expect to learn about the nation’s strategic planning in the South China Sea and the history of its forces, while onboard demonstrations and hands-on tasks have also been planned, it said.
Now in its seventh year, the camp is aimed at Taiwanese under 40 years old who do not hold positions in the military and students who attend regular classes instead of night school.
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