Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-yu (李天羽) said at a luncheon with reporters yesterday that the president has the authority to visit any part of the nation's territory at any time and the military was obliged to facilitate any such visit.
"He [the president] has the authority to do that," Lee said. "It is our job to make sure that any trip the president makes is as safe as possible."
Lee's comments referred to speculation that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was planning to visit the newly completed airstrip on Taiping Island (太平島), the biggest atoll of the Spratly Islands (南沙群島), located 1,600km southwest of Kaohsiung.
The Spratly Islands, which consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs surrounded by fishing grounds and oil deposits, are claimed either entirely or partially by Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Lee said the runway, which is 1,198m long and 7m wide, can accommodate aircraft as large as a C-130 Hercules. It takes approximately seven to eight hours to reach Taiping Island from Kaohsiung.
The minister confirmed that the runway is now ready and that Air Force Commander-in-chief Peng Sheng-chu (
If the president was planning to visit the island, the ministry would help organize a trip for reporters as well, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing yesterday reassured Vice President Annette Lu (
Tomeing, who had earlier voiced support for forging ties with Beijing, pledged to Lu in a speech that the Marshall Islands -- one of only 23 countries that recognizes Taiwan -- would not forsake Taipei. He also said his country would continue to support Taiwan's efforts to join the UN and the WHO.
Lu arrived in the Marshall Islands yesterday at the start of a three-nation Pacific tour that also includes stops in Nauru and the Solomon Islands. All three Pacific island nations have changed government in the past two months.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai