Taiwan's armed forces remained on a state of alert yesterday to guard against potential attacks from China, but officials from the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the cross-strait situation was not as tense as some had speculated.
Military spokesman Kung Fan-ding (孔繁定) said although armed forces were on an around-the-clock watch, troop combat readiness had not been raised to the level of preparing for war.
Kung admitted, however, that there have been a considerable number of Chinese fishing boats showing up off the frontline Matsu island group in recent days.
"But the boats were engaged only in fishing activities. They went there in large number because the weather is better and it's the fishing season," Kung said.
Kung made the remarks at a regular military press conference -- the first since last Saturday's presidential election.
With the election of Chen Shui-bian (
"The military will act according to the Constitution and government policy. Current government policy opposes Taiwan independence. We will continue to educate enlistees and conscripts about the possible consequences of declaring independence," Kung said.
"We will be loyal to the leader of the country as long as he is elected by the people. According to the Constitution, the president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces. There is no doubt about this," he said.
Kung conceded the military did not condemn the independence movement as it had in the past. But it would continue to educate its personnel on the downside of declaring independence, he said.
Kung also denied there had been any irregular military deployments in China which could be directed at Taiwan.
He declined to explain, however, why military leaders have been inspecting the offshore islands of Penghu and Kinmen in recent days.
Military leaders also held an unusual meeting on Monday to discuss how to put troops on alert for potential provocative action from China, sources said.
Recent reports say that China's People's Liberation Army has deployed over 100 fighter planes to coastal Fujian Province facing Taiwan, and sent troops from other provinces to mobilize in Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces, which are directly opposite Taiwan.
Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基), China's premier, warned at a press conference last Wednesday that he could not reveal whether there would be a military exercise directed toward Taiwan in the near future, but that the answer would be found a couple of days after the election.
In response to Zhu's threat of using force against Taiwan, Kung quoted Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (
"The military will fight for the country and its democratic system. Tang has made clear the point on several occasions," Kung said.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS