Responding to the concerns of fishermen, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) yesterday assured them that the navy will play a closer supporting role in protecting their safety at sea.
"Althogh the coast guard plays the leading role in protecting fishermen, and the navy plays a supporting role, the navy has never relaxed in its efforts to protect fishermen, although it is very poor at adversing it," he said. "If the Coast Guard Aministration feels any need for our help at any time, we are just a phone call away, and we will waste no time rushing to the area to let the fishermen see our presence."
Lee made the remarks yesterday morning during a meeting with Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
Fearing that its annual budget and the arms procurement plan would be cut, Lee yesterday promised to send ships to the waters near the Diaoyutais.
He, however, emphasized that it may take them a while to map out a comprehensive plan before making the trip, which may include circumventing the 200-nautical-mile economic zone.
Lee made the pledge in response to a request filed by People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (
Lee also said that the MND would allow lawmakers from the Defense committee onboard navy vessels, including Lin.
However, he complained about Lin's threat to cut the ministry's annual budget and to block the arms procurement plan, painting it as "emotional." Lin then criticized the ministry's attitude in the matter, saying that it was because of the MND's contempt for the committee and the legislature that it rejected his request earlier.
The MND said on Wednesday that it had no intention of getting involved into the fishing dispute with Japan, in response to Lin's demand.
Lin claimed that the ministry had agreed to send a 3,500-tonne Knox-class frigate to the disputed waters today, with him and other lawmakers on board.
Lin also attacked a remark made by an MND staff officer, who told reporters on Wednesday that if a war broke out with Japan, Taiwan would lose.
Lee added his own insights, saying that although Japan has more ships and more advanced weaponry, it takes more than lots of state-of-the-art weapons to win a battle.
Commenting on Lin's request to send ships to the disputed waters, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Shi promised to expand the coast guard's patrol lines to the 200-nautical-mile mark if fishermen made such a request via the fishermen's associations. The area the navy patrols is from 20 to 60 nautical miles (37km to 111km) off the coast.
He, however, said that the military's embarrassing situation of limited resources required it to request that the legislature grant more funding to improve its equipment.
VANDALISM
Meanwhile, police said yesterday they had stepped up patrols around the Japanese Interchange Association (JIA) office in Taipei after unknown vandals sprayed asphalt emulsion at its entrance.
The JIA is a quasi-official organization authorized by the Japanese government to handle exchanges with Taiwan in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.
Initial investigations show that four unidentified persons arrived at the JIA office early that morning, sprayed asphalt emulsion at the JIA's main gate and ran off.
To ensure the JIA's security, police said they will strengthen patrols in the region from late night through the early morning hours.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS