The nation should cut long-standing defense ties with Singapore if the Southeast Asian nation's military expands relations with China, a DPP lawmaker said yesterday.
Singapore's relationship with Taiwan is unique because the country has a pact with Taiwan's military but does not have official diplomatic ties with the nation's government.
Countries that don't recognize Taiwan diplomatically usually don't have formal ties with its military.
The defense agreement has allowed tiny Singapore -- which has limited space for military training -- to send some of its forces to Taiwan for exercises.
But the deal should end if Singapore decides to train some of its troops in China's tropical island province of Hainan, said Lin Chin-hsing (
The lawmaker said Singapore's interest in Hainan is commonly known by the Taiwanese military based in his southern legislative district, a popular training ground.
Lin said that Singapore shouldn't be allowed to use both Hainan and Taiwan because there would be a risk of secrets being leaked to China by visiting Singaporean forces.
The lawmaker said Taiwan should try to stop Singapore from switching to Hainan.
"I've told the government not just to pay attention to relations with America and Japan. We also need to pay attention to small nations, like Singapore," he told reporters.
The Taiwanese military spokesman's office declined to discuss the relationship with Singapore, and the Singaporean military did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
But in his memoirs, former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS