Singapore has decided to move at least part of the military training facilities it has had in Taiwan for more than two decades to China, a source close to the military and a lawmaker said yesterday.
The issue was raised during last week's visit by Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (
"The Ministry of National Defense was unhappy with the decision that Singapore is to move its training bases to China's Hainan Island," he said.
"But we are still not sure if they want a partial pullout, a downgrade of the program, or a scrapping of the entire one," he said.
Under a military-cooperation program known as "Operation Hsing Kuang" (Starlight), Singapore has operated three military training camps in Taiwan since 1975.
DPP Legislator Peter Lin (林進興) confirmed the move.
"Some sort of decision has already been made although the government has made last-ditch efforts" to persuade Singapore not to move the training facilities, Lin told reporters.
He declined to provide details "for the sake of national interest."
Lin warned earlier this year that China had offered to provide Singapore with military training facilities as part of Beijing's attempt to sabotage the city-state's ties with Taiwan.
The issue was first unveiled by London-based Jane's Defense Weekly last year.
The publication said Singapore had been reluctant to accept the offer, the first to a foreign country by China, for fear of changing its arrangement with Taiwan.
Lee visited Taiwan for four days last week after a trip to Beijing. He met with President Chen Shui-bian (
Taiwan sent air force and naval officers to Singapore during the city state's early years of independence after 1965.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS