Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (
The countries on Wu's itinerary are Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, the ministry said in a press release. While in Guatemala, Wu plans to meet with a fleet from the Taiwan navy, which left last month on a tour of diplomatic allies in the Pacific and Central America, the ministry said.
The trip will be Wu's first formal overseas visit as minister, although he made a secret trip to Singapore in January for what he said was "tourism." Wu confirmed the trip yesterday as he answered inquiries from lawmakers before the defense committee of the legislature.
"The trip was arranged mainly to promote Taiwan's relations with these countries. The military leaders of these countries have all visited Taiwan [in the past year]. My trip is a return visit to them," Wu said.
"The trip has nothing to do with President Chen Shui-bian's
Wu also confirmed that he is also planning to visit Taiwan's European ally, Macedonia.
That trip is reportedly scheduled for late April, although Wu refused to confirm or deny it yesterday.
A defense official, who declined to be identified, Wu will discuss military cooperation with Macedonian military leaders.
One aspect of the military cooperation between the two countries reportedly involves a plan to send Taiwan's retired F-5E fighter pilots to Macedonia to assist with training that country's F-5E pilots.
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