The Ministry of National Defense yesterday expressed optimism after the US Senate Committee on Armed Services passed a provision that would re-establish regular visits by US Navy vessels to Kaohsiung or “other suitable ports” and allow the US Pacific Command to “receive ports of call by Taiwan.”
The committee on Thursday voted to allow the exchanges as part of next year’s National Defense Authorization Act, which is to be sent to the full Senate for consideration.
“The move shows that the US values military exchanges with Taiwan. The ministry welcomes any form of partnership that would enhance Taiwan’s national defense capabilities and bring stability to the region,” the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan International Ports Corp (臺灣港務), which is in charge of operations at the nation’s seaports, said that the ministry has its own wharves at some ports.
Should military vessels from other nations need to make stops in Taiwan, they would have to contact the ministry for permission to dock at its wharves, the firm said, adding that military ships would not dock at wharves used by commercial vessels.
The ministry could request the company’s assistance if its wharves cannot accommodate larger warships, the firm added.
Keelung, Kaohsiung, Suao and Taichung ports have military facilities, the Maritime Ports Bureau said.
Bureau Deputy Director-General Lee Yun-wan (李雲萬), who was a student at National Taiwan Ocean University in Keelung when the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet would make ports of call there, said that he recalled seeing a small aircraft carrier enter Keelung Port, although the vessel did not dock.
Only Kaohsiung Port can accommodate large aircraft carriers, which could enter through the second port entrance, Lee said.
He added that Keelung, Kaohsiung, Suao and Taichung ports can accommodate 9,000-tonne guided missile destroyers, such as the USS Fitzgerald, which earlier this month was involved in a collision with the Philippine-flagged cargo container ship ACX Crystal in Tokyo Bay.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS