A high-profile naval exercise sche-duled to be held in mid-August off the eastern coast has been canceled to avoid creating "misunderstandings" with the international community, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
The MND said the ministry also decided to cancel the exercise because of rough seas off the eastern coast, which might last until the exercise is scheduled to run.
The exercise, which the MND said does not have an official name, was scheduled to be held on Aug. 15 off Hualien as a demonstration for Taiwan's media.
The initial plan was to have Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
The live-fire exercise is com-prised of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft operations, as well as target shooting.
It would involve the participation of ships, including Lafayette- and Chengkung-class frigates, as well as S-2T anti-submarine aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters.
It is not known when it was decided that the exercise should be called off. The MND denied that the decision was made by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
"We do not want the international community to associate the exercise with the recent changes in the situation of the Taiwan Strait," an MND spokesman said.
"We have been planning for the exercise for quite some time. The exercise, even if it was held on schedule, is not meant to have any political implications," he said.
"The sea conditions off the east coast in recent days are not suitable for such an exercise. The navy worries that the conditions might last till the planned exercise date."
The navy has different considerations than the MND. What the navy cares about is potential risks in concentrating its fighting forces off the eastern coast at a time of tense cross-strait relations.
A naval official, who declined to be identified, said the ships initially scheduled to participate in the exercise have been given a new order to intensify combat preparations in the days to come.
The official clarified at the same time that the exercise is not called "Shark Hunt" as reported by Chinese-language newspapers.
"The `Shark Hunt' is a name given to an anti-submarine exercise. But the exercise we initially planned to hold on Aug. 15 is a combination of anti-submarine and anti-aircraft operations," the official said.
Shark-hunt drills are regular exercises that the navy holds each year for its anti-submarine forces.
This year's shark-hunt drill had been held as part of the Hankuang No. 18 exercise between April and June.
RSS