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.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
RSS