Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday dismissed China’s complaints about a collision between a Taiwanese naval vessel and a Chinese trawler in the Taiwan Strait, vowing that Taipei would continue its military exercises undeterred.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office called the actions of the landing ship “wicked” following Thursday’s collision off Taichung.
Taipei said that the incident did not take place in “restricted” waters.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
“The Taiwan Affairs Office always says things like this,” Koo told reporters at the legislature in Taipei. “I can only say that we will carry out the drills we should be carrying out.”
Asked if the Chinese fishing boat was spying on the activities of Taiwan’s navy, Koo said it was “not really possible” for such a vessel to get any kind of detailed information on military activity.
China said it is also investigating the collision, which happened on the Taiwan side of the median line of the strait.
The Coast Guard Administration is leading an investigation into what happened, Koo said of the incident, in which there were no casualties, declining to speculate on the reason or where to attribute blame.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), a researcher at Taipei-based think tank the Association of Strategic Foresight, said that China could use the incident as a further pretext to cross the median line and send its own coast guard vessels to protect its fishers.
That would mean Beijing trying to further assert its legal claims to jurisdiction over the waterway, Chieh said, adding that “national security units should not take this matter lightly.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
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
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
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 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last 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 covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS