Over 5,000 military and coast guard personnel have been sent to assist search-and-recovery efforts in the seas off Penghu in the two days since Saturday's China Airlines crash.
In the largest-ever mobilization of its kind in the military's history, the navy dispatched over 40 vessels while the air force sent 12 aircraft and helicopters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The army contributed manpower to the operation, mobilizing more than 4,000 soldiers over the past two days.
The coast guard administration, which also joined the operation, sent almost all of its forces in southern Taiwan -- some 1,000 personnel and 28 patrol boats, according to coast guard officials.
Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明), who yesterday inspected the military's rescue operations in Penghu, said the military will continue to search for survivors despite the fact that the odds of finding anyone are not good.
The first 72 hours after a crash are considered critical in rescue efforts.
Tang has assigned Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Fei Hung-po (
Meanwhile, the ministry announced that two Chinese rescue ships, identified as Hujiu No. 12 and the Hwayi, have left their ports in Fujian for an area close to the region where the Taiwan military is searching for the bodies of the crash victims.
"The two Chinese ships are to assist the search for the crash victims' bodies, but they are not to enter Taiwan's territorial waters," the ministry said.
The search for the crash victims' bodies is the largest of its kind in the military, providing a good chance to test the military's response to an emergency situation.
It is alsoa test of the military's joint operation capabilities since the search mission involves the three services.
One problem the forces are confronting is a lack of direct communication capabilities between the three services.
The naval vessels, for instance, are not able to directly communicate with the air force. They have to rely on the Hengshan command in suburban Taipei for the transmission of data collected by the air force.
That lack of direct communication was the reason Chief of the General Staff Admiral Li Chieh (
This indirect method of communication is expected to stay in place for several more years before an inter-service data link system purchased from the US is installed.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it