All Singaporean troops training in Taiwan have been ordered to return home amid concern about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Ministry of National Defense confirmed yesterday.
"The Singaporean troops started returning to their country earlier this month. All military links between the two countries have now been suspended," Vice Defense Minister Lieutenant General Chen Ti-tuan, (陳體端) said.
Chen made the confirmation yesterday at a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee in response to inquiries from lawmakers about news reports on Singapore pulling its troops out of Taiwan.
The news reports were based on claims by two DPP lawmakers that Singaporean troops had left mainly to avoid contracting SARS.
It was the first time since the beginning of military ties between Taiwan and Singapore in the mid-1970s that Singapore withdrew all of its troops training on the island.
The training program -- known as the Starlight Project -- was the core of bilateral military ties. Taiwan's military regularly provides training grounds and assists Singaporean troops with their training exercises.
The bilateral military links covered air, land and sea operations, but had been adjusted in recent years to focus on ground-troop training. In the interim, rumors cropped up to the effect that Singapore was getting ready to terminate military links with Taiwan due to favorable terms offered by China.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday suspended standing and scheduled recall orders for reserves for this and next month until infections from the ailment have been declared contained. The affected recalls include those concerning the Hankuang No. 19 exercise, the largest military drill of the year.
Some legislators had complained that the ministry took too long to make a decision on the suspension.
At yesterday's committee meeting, PFP Legislator Nelson Ku (顧崇廉) -- a former naval commander-in chief -- went into a rage after he could not get a satisfactory response from the ministry on the issue.
Ku asked Deputy Chief of the General Staff Admiral Fei Hung-po (
Fei replied that he has yet to obtain the opinion of the Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
Ku said he could not understand why an admiral such as Fei could not make such a decision independently. Hours after the episode at the legislature, the ministry issued a press release announcing the decision expected by Ku and other lawmakers.
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