Amid reports that the Ministry of National Defense (MND) will withdraw troops from six Kinmen islets, the head of another outlying island has said he opposes the pullout of troops.
Chen Hsueh-sheng (
The MND has confirmed that it will adjust its deployment on the six islets -- Tatan, Ertan, Tungting, Peitung, Shihyu and Menghuyu -- and turn over administration of the islets to the Kinmen County Government, with the police to maintain order on the islets.
Residents of Matsu have speculated that the MND will also withdraw its small number of troops currently stationed on the islets off Matsu, which are located only 20km from the Chinese port of Mawei, Fujian province.
Chen said that Kinmen and Matsu will be unable to take over the islets after the military pullout, and that even the National Park Administration will be unable to handle them. Even if Matsu wants to adopt the BOT (build-operate-transfer) model, it won't be able to attract private sector interest because of a lack of incentives.
Chen said he believes that at the present stage, the troops should remain on the islets, and that the government should open them to tourism.
The MND's plan to turn over the six islets off Kinmen is at the request of Kinmen County, but the people of Matsu have expressed concerns that if the MND withdraws troops from the islets near Kinmen and Matsu, this will trigger a complete troop withdrawal from Matsu, which he said would be a major blow to the Matsu economy as spending by the soldiers stationed there is a major source of income for the residents.
In recent years, Kinmen and Matsu's development has diverged, which may be the reason why the two counties have different views on the troop withdrawal issue.
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