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Government has plans for airstrip on Taiping Island

Vice Minister of National Defense Huo Shou-yeh (霍守業)confirmed yesterday that the government will build an airport on one of the biggest islets of the disputed Spratly Islands.

However, Hou emphasized that the airport on Taiping Island (太平島) is not intended for military use but for humanitarian purposes such as emergency rescue efforts by the Coast Guard Administration for sick or injured sailors or fishermen.

Hou was responding to questions by legislators during a meeting of the legislature's National Defense Committee.

Hou said that the plan to build the airport was proposed by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and that the Ministry of National Defense will assist by sending soldiers there for the construction work.

Hou said the airport will only be equipped with simple facilities, including a 1,150m runway and a control tower.

He said the airport will only be capable of handling the takeoff and landing of C130 aircraft, and not other military aircraft, fighters or marine-patrol aircraft, so the airport will not pose any military threat to the surrounding islets.

The Spratly Islands, which consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by rich fishing grounds and oil deposits, are claimed either entirely or partially by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Su Chi (蘇起) criticized the plan, saying it is likely to trigger an international dispute in light of the sensitive strategic and political implications involving the Spratlys.

Su said he will demand the ministry deliver a special report on the issue to the legislature and that he will also investigate whether the true purpose for building the airport is different from what the ministry claims and whether the plan is being financed by a secret budget.

During a separate meeting of the legislature's Home and Nations Committee, CGA Director-General Shi Hwei-yow (許惠祐) said the government needs to build the airport to serve practical needs and to defend the nation's sovereignty claim over the Spratlys and its fishing rights in nearby waters.

Shi said there are 200 Coast Guard officers stationed on the island and that it takes eight days and costs NT$40 million (US$1.2 million) in fuel costs for one resupply mission by sea between Taiwan and Taiping Island.

Although there is a landing pad for helicopters on tiny island, helicopters cannot fly the long distance between Taiwan and the island, Shi said.

He said the plan to build the airport was first included in the Ministry of the Interior's policy guidelines on the Spratlys in 1993, adding that China and Malaysia have built their own airports on islands or reefs in the Spratlys in recent years to affirm their sovereignty claims.
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