The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked France over its concern about security in the Taiwan Strait, after the French Ministry of Armed Forces confirmed its naval presence in the area.
French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly on Tuesday told the French Senate that Paris would use its navy to demonstrate its adherence to international law and freedom of navigation, mentioning maneuvers by the signals intelligence vessel Dupuy-de-Lome in the Taiwan Strait as an example.
Parly made the remarks in response to a question by French Senator Olivier Cadic, one of the senators who visited Taiwan last week, if any concrete action was being taken to back Paris’ oft-expressed support for maintaining the cross-strait “status quo.”
Photo: AFP
In August, a Facebook page called New 27 Brigade reported the spotting of the French frigate Provence sailing in the waters off Changhua County’s coast, but the French Ministry of Armed Forces said at the time that no French naval vessels were in the Taiwan Strait.
In Taipei, Department of European Affairs Director-General Remus Chen (陳立國) told a news briefing yesterday that the ministry thanked the French parliament and its administration for its concern over the security situation in the Taiwan Strait and taking corresponding actions.
In the face of China’s military expansionism, European nations this year have raised concerns about security matters within the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region on several occasions, such as the G7, NATO and US-Europe summits, Chen said.
France, Germany, the UK and the Netherlands have dispatched vessels to the Indo-Pacific region to assert their freedom of navigation, he added.
Taiwan will continue to deepen its close partnerships with France and other like-minded countries to defend a rules-based international order, along with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Chen said.
Additional reporting by CNA
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS