A new shoulder patch seen during a two-day series of military exercises last week has caused a minor sensation in defense circles, as Taiwan and Japan continue to spar over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台).
During the Combat Readiness Tri-Service Exercises in Greater Kaohsiung and Hualien, members of the Taiwan Military Journalists Association were seen wearing a patch depicting a Taiwanese soldier planting a Republic of China (ROC) flag on a rock, with the inscription 釣魚台是我們的, or “the Diaoyutais belong to us.”
Although not officially sanctioned by the Ministry of National Defense, the patch was a “show of support for Taiwan’s territorial claims,” one of the journalists told reporters present at the exercises, which did not include scenarios involving the disputed islets, but instead simulated a submarine incursion and defensive measures to counter an assault on an airport.
Photo: J. Michael Cole, Taipei Times
A similar inscription was seen one week after Japan announced the purchase of three of the islets comprising the Diaoyutais in September last year, this time on a Mk82 “Snake Eye” 500lb bomb carried by a F-16 taking off at Hualien Air Force Base as it headed for a bombing exercise.
The ministry said at the time that while there were “more appropriate” ways to express patriotism, none of the pilots would be reprimanded, as it was understandable that some would want to show their devotion to the nation they are charged with defending.
Meanwhile, Japanese media reported at the weekend that a Coast Guard Administration vessel was seen operating in waters near the Diaoyutais, coming within 39km off Uotsuri Island, the largest islet in the chain, known as the Senkakus by the Japanese.
The 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, said the Taiwanese vessel entered the area at 7:10am. The Hualien 119, a 500-tonne medium coastal patrol ship, left the contiguous area at 8:25am. Around the same time, Chinese patrol vessels were observed sailing in the contiguous zone outside Japanese waters for the third day in a row.
The Coast Guard Administration said the Hualien was on a routine maritime patrol mission.
On Thursday, Coast Guard Administration vessels engaged in a water cannon battle — the second in recent months — after Japanese coast guard ships attempted to intercept a Taiwanese fishing boat heading for the Diaoyutais.
Activists on board, members of the Taipei-based Chinese Association for Protecting the Diaoyutais, were hoping to enshrine a statue of Matsu on one of the islets.
In a twist to the story, the president of the board of the Greater Taichung-based Matsu temple from which the statue originated is former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), who was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in jail in November last year on corruption charges.
Yen was forced to step down as legislator in Taichung’s second electoral district, prompting a by-election on Saturday in which his son, Yen Kuang-hen (顏寬恆), defeated Democratic Progressive Party candidate Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱).
Officials in Taipei and Tokyo maintain that the incident will not undermine efforts to resume bilateral talks on fisheries, which are expected to begin soon.
During an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun on Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the idea, proposed recently by a senior Chinese Communist Party official, of “shelving” the territorial dispute was “not applicable, as the Senkakus have long been part of Japan.”
“There is no room for diplomatic discussion,” he said.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
AIR ALERT: China’s reservation of airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea could be an attempt to test the US’ response ahead of a Trump-Xi meeting, the NSB head said China’s attempts to infiltrate Taiwan are systematic, planned and targeted, with activity shifting from recruiting mid-level military officers to rank-and-file enlisted personnel, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) integrates national security, intelligence operations and “united front” efforts into a dense network to conduct intelligence gathering and espionage in Taiwan, Tsai said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. It uses specific networks to screen targets through exchange activities and recruiting local collaborators to establish intelligence-gathering organizations, he said. China is also shifting who it targets to lower-ranking military personnel,
RSS