The coast guard yesterday received a 600-tonne corvette, the newest addition to its fleet that is being increasingly tested by Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. The vessel, the Chang Bin (長濱), was handed over to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) by its builder, Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Group, during a ceremony presided over by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in Kaohsiung. The Chang Bin is set to join two other 600-tonne Anping-class corvettes in the Eastern branch of the CGA.
"I encourage our Coast Guard personnel to safeguard safety in the gray zone and uphold our dignity in matters of sovereignty," Cho said during the event, referring to gray zone activities that are harmful to other countries but fall short of provoking a military response.
Cho's remarks came a day after five China Coast Guard vessels were spotted near waters south of Kinmen County, with four entering restricted waters around the outlying island in what could be classified as gray zone tactics.
Photo: CNA
Similarly, on Jan. 3, an undersea cable belonging to Chunghwa Telecom near Yehliu (野柳) in New Taipei City was damaged, likely by a ship owned by a Hong Kong entity and manned by a Chinese crew.
Though seemingly another gray zone act, there was no direct evidence proving the ship was connected to China.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
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The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
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