Coast guard remains grounded

The Coast Guard Administration's plan to set up its own aircraft division, including fixed-wing planes and helicopters, is having trouble getting off the ground.

Chang Yu-shih (張雨時), chief of the coast guard's public relations department, said yesterday that uncertainty over the agency's future was hindering the plans.

Responsibility for air patrols of Taiwan's coasts falls to the air force. But there's little coordination between the air force and coast guard.

Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that the coast guard, inaugurated just last year, is scheduled for a major transformation by the end of this year.

According to plans by the Cabinet's Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, the coast guard could be combined with the National Police Administration, the National Fire Administration and the Fisheries Administration. Another plan is to re-name the agency as the marine development ministry.

"We plan to buy both helicopters and aircraft, and we have asked for advice from the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology," Chang said.

In February, the Cabinet gave the green light to the coast guard's plan to establish an air arm. Since that time, several officials have been assigned to form the air unit, but no aircraft have been provided yet.

"Our leaders have kept their heads down in the treatment of the issue," a coast guard official said on condition of anonymity. "They don't even want to hold public a seminar held today at coast guard headquarters on what kind of air arm the coast guard is to have."

Still, the official said it was understandable that the Cabinet is keeping mum on its plans, given the competition from other agencies for resources.

"Several other governmental agencies, such as the National Fire Administration, also seek to establish or strengthen their air units," he said. "The central government just doesn't have the money now. It cannot satisfy the demands of all the governmental agencies."

Yu Chien-tzu (游乾賜), deputy director of the coast guard, said earlier that the coast guard had planned to lease helicopters from civil aviation companies to save money.

At a seminar held yesterday at coast guard headquarters in Taipei's suburban Mucha, academics from the Chung Shan Institute said the coast guard should adopt the use of unmanned aerial vehicles or micro-aerial vehicles.

The institute has been developing both types of vehicles.

Officials from Chung Shan said the reconnaissance capabilities and ability to stay aloft for long periods of time made unmanned aircraft suitable for monitoring coastlines.

Chang, the coast guard's spokesman, said the agency would consider the proposal.