The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday used the occasion of its second anniversary celebration to publicize some of the law-enforcement and maritime search-and-rescue achievements it is most proud of.
The CGA, inaugurated on Jan. 28, 2000, said one of its most remarkable accomplishments over the past two years has been the discovery and seizure of NT$11.8 billion worth of smuggled goods, including cigarettes, liquor and oil, as well as agricultural and fishery products.
CGA Director Wang Chun (王郡) said another major accomplishment of the administration has been search-and-rescue missions for around 1,600 people reported missing or stranded in shipwrecks or sea disasters.
"This achievement is indeed something to be proud of. Unfortunately, we were unable to save all those we intended to. There is still much room for improvement. We have yet to upgrade our equipment," Wang said.
President Chen Shui-bian (
With the agency's current equipment, mainly ships, President Chen said the CGA is unable to "have all of Taiwan's territorial waters" under its control.
The president said he expected the CGA to develop "three-dimensional operational capabilities" to make up for its deficiency in surface vessels.
Chen made the remarks in a speech he delivered to the CGA leadership and its staff at the Taipei headquarters of the administration. The three-dimensional operation capabilities Chen mentioned refer mainly to an air arm that the CGA is to bring into service.
The air arm will become operational on Friday, Wang said.
It is basically a fleet of helicopters with search-and-rescue capabilities.
Because of budgetary constraints, the CGA will not own the helicopters. They will be chartered from a civil aviation company on a pay-per-flight basis.
The CGA declined to reveal any further details of the helicopter fleet, such as the number of aircraft involved.
Besides the soon-to-be-established air arm, Wang also announced that the administration will increase the number of fixed coastal radar sites from 45 to 78 over the next few years.
The new radar sites will be built by local firms that won the bidding for the project in December.
The new radar sites will be linked to satellites, an official with the CGA said. It is not known which country the satellites belong to.
The CGA was founded in February 2000 and combined the coast guard command of the military, the marine police under the National Police Administration and certain portions of the customs office under the Ministry of Finance.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting