An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific.
The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies, the sources said.
Ministry spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang (孫立方) said that the drills were based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), a series of non-binding rules to prevent an escalation of tensions between militaries at sea.
Routine drills were carried out in accordance with CUES to avoid mutual interference during encounters at sea, because there are many uncertain factors during any such encounters, Sun said.
An agreement reached at the 2014 Western Pacific Naval Symposium, CUES offers safety measures and a means to limit mutual interference, to limit uncertainty and to facilitate communication when naval ships or naval aircraft encounter each other in an unplanned manner.
“It’s like I am dining in this restaurant and you also happen to be here,” Reuters quoted a source as saying. “Then it looks like I am only sharing the same table with someone.”
A third source said that although the two navies’ “unplanned encounters” involved mostly basic exercises, such drills are vital to ensure they can operate together in times of emergency.
The two navies also practiced tactical maneuvers, including searching for underwater targets, the third source said.
The Pentagon declined to comment.
The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The drills, which focused on communications and other operations and did not involve live-fire maritime exercises, were not the first held to simulate encounters between Taiwanese and US naval ships, a source familiar with the matter said.
In 2016, a Taiwanese flotilla composed of the Kang Ding and Cheng Ho frigates, as well as the Panshih combat supply ship, were returning from a goodwill voyage when they unexpectedly met the USS Chaffee, a destroyer, in waters off Hawaii, the Military News Agency reported.
The Taiwanese ships established contact with the US vessel, and exchanged speed and bearing information to ensure mutual navigation safety following CUES, it said.
Separately, the MND said in a statement yesterday evening that as of 5pm, 23 Chinese warplanes had been detected operating near Taiwan, 15 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Joint surveillance units kept a close watch on the situation, and aircraft, ships and shore-based missile systems were deployed to respond appropriately, it said.
Meanwhile, asked about Chinese military activity ahead of the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Monday next week, Sun said that peace in the Taiwan Strait and regional stability depend on the joint efforts of all parties.
Any provocative actions would not help regional peace and stability, and Taiwan’s military is not a troublemaker and will not take provocative actions, Sun said.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Saturday deployed the Lishui, a Type 052D destroyer, in waters around Penghu County.
Major General Tung Chi-hsing (董冀星), who is in charge of combat and planning affairs at the MND, said that China has also been stepping up “gray zone” warfare against Taiwan.
The MND would continue its joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations to stay on top of developments in the Taiwan Strait and respond to any emergencies based on combat readiness guidelines and regulations, Tung said.
Additional reporting by Wu Che-yu
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS